U.S. Could Use International Election Observer Team

 My friend Duncan from the Netherlands recently asked me if the U.S. needed someone from the International community to be an observer for our 2020 election. I agreed we could use the help!

The Jimmy Carter Center has observed 111 elections in 39 countries since 1989. Observers bring impartiality, and their presence helps to reassure voters that they can safely cast their ballots.

The United States faces previously unimaginable barriers to people’s constitutional right to vote, including voter suppression, restrictive I.D. laws, and defunding of and slowing down the mail service. The presidential incumbent seems open to Russian interference. He says in advance the elections will be fraudulent and that he might not accept the results of the election These tactics and more make voting in a “peaceful” democracy as hard as possible.

Would the U.S. accept international observers? Probably not, but our issues are serious. Observers bring impartiality and help to reassure voters that they can safely cast their ballots. They begin well in advance of elections and assess registration practices. During elections, the observers monitor voting and remain afterwards to monitor vote tabulation. They can serve as mediators to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.

My friend Duncan is originally from Suriname which recently held elections. Their President, who had been accused of crimes, was defeated. This Dutch-speaking Caribbean country has a parliamentary multiparty system. The losing party said to the winners: “to every Surinamese of these coalition parties who will form the government, the blessing of the Most High of the religion you profess”.

Their election was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May authorities imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, ordered non-essential businesses closed and said people could travel only to get food or medicine. Facemasks are mandatory in shops; meetings of more than five people are banned. As of August 13, there were only 39 deaths in this country of 600,000.

What might we learn from other democratic nations? Might we now need an international team to monitor the 2020 elections in this democracy of the United States of America?