Overview
- The Trump administration formally did not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to the November 2026 midterms, ending a practice in place since 2002.
- The OSCE called the decision regrettable and said it runs counter to commitments made under the 1990 Copenhagen Document, while critics compared the move to recent refusals by Russia and Belarus.
- Domestic critics including Human Rights Watch and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen warned the choice could further erode public trust in U.S. elections by removing an independent international assessment.
- The Justice Department plans a large domestic monitoring operation, reporting it may deploy up to 1,000 federal monitors to enforce federal voting laws at polling sites.
- OSCE observers traditionally do not have enforcement power and must rely on state-level access to polling places, and the United States had long presented inviting observers as a signal of its role as a standard-setter on election transparency.