Concern grows over electoral fraud after years of unfounded complaints

It is not only about the bad losing of a candidate, as was the case of Trump in 2020. US intelligence agencies recently reported that Russia surreptitiously released a doctored video purporting to show people voting multiple times in Georgia, an attempt to sow divisions and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

This year, in the face of political division and questions about electoral integrity, US institutions have a guarantee that until now had been rare, more typical of democracies in the process of consolidation or at risk of collapse: an electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States (OAS). This tool has been decisive in cases such as Evo Morales in Bolivia in 2019, where he contributed to reversing an attempt to remain in power, or in unfounded disputes such as that of Keiko Fujimori in Peru in 2021.

OAS observation

There are 41 OAS observers deployed in 12 states, including some of the most disputed and susceptible to lawsuits, such as Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan or Nevada. In total, the federal government and 35 states have agreed to cooperate. Others, such as Arizona or Pennsylvania, where there are already groups that preventively report fraud, have not accepted the mission.

The mission, coordinated in person by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, is already supervising advance voting, voting by mail, voting facilities and the operation of the technology used to exercise that right.

According to Almagro himself, “requesting a mission demonstrates the country’s openness to the international community and the technical recommendations that these missions make, as well as its commitment to the democratic values ​​defended by the OAS.” “Electoral missions are one of the key tools that the OAS has to strengthen democracy in the Americas,” he adds.

Following the 2020 election, more than 60 complaints were filed alleging voter fraud, primarily by then-President Trump and his allies. However, the vast majority of these cases were dismissed by the courts due to a lack of substantial evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud. Even additional audits and recounts, such as the one conducted in Arizona, confirmed the validity of the election results and found no evidence of significant irregularities.

The OAS already observed the 2016 and 2020 elections in the United States, but its mission now becomes more relevant due to these false complaints. Some states have made reforms to make voting easier, such as Nevada, which has sent ballots to all registered voters, or Michigan, which for the first time allows early voting in person. In 2022, the Capitol approved another reform to prevent the electoral college from reversing the result of the vote.

Electoral distrust

On January 6, 2021, after the assault on the Capitol, the Secretary General of the OAS, Almagro, spoke out calling for “recovering the necessary rationality and closing the electoral process in accordance with the Constitution and the corresponding institutional procedures.” His call sought to restore confidence in democratic processes and prevent the political crisis from escalating further.

A recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows that a majority of Americans fear this year’s general election will be marred by fraud, an alarming finding for thousands of election officials charged with administering the vote. Nearly six in 10 Americans are worried or very worried about the possibility of fraud, a figure driven largely by Trump’s continued insistence that the election cannot be trusted. 88% of voters who support the former president say they are worried about fraud, compared to 29% of those who support the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.