Josée Lorschée (déi Gréng), Gusty Graas (DP) and Claude Haagen (LSAP) arrived in Washington, DC over the weekend and are monitoring activity at voting stations in the city on election day.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has carried out observation missions in all US elections since 2002, including mid-terms. This came after the 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which went all the way to the Supreme Court.

The organisation had foreseen a delegation of 500 observers to be dispatched across the country. Due to coronavirus only a core team of 30 long-term observers and 80 members of parliaments from its member countries will be on site in addition to 14 experts from the OSCE.

The mission analyses legal frameworks at federal and state level, voter registration and identification, campaign finances, coverage of the election by the media but also the delineation of constituencies and voter suppression.

In a preliminary report--the first observers arrived in late September--the OSCE warned of an extremely polarised election. It also cited a record number of 365 lawsuits filed in 44 states against election legislation.  

Josée Lorsché told broadcaster RTL that she sensed a fear of violence breaking out in the aftermath of the results. Around 95m US voters have already cast their ballots.

Observers at polling stations are not supposed to interfere but report their findings back to the organization, which will compile a final report on the election.

In 2019, the OSCE observed 15 elections, in Moldova, Ukraine, Slovakia, Estonia, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Spain, Albania, Kazakhstan, Greece, Poland, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Romania.