Trump rejects OSCE monitors for midterm election

What Trump changed

President Trump has rejected participation by election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for the midterm contest, breaking a U.S. practice that had lasted more than two decades. The United States had routinely invited OSCE observers to monitor and report on both midterm and presidential contests.

The group’s role was to observe election activity and report on what it found. Trump’s decision means that established invitation will not be extended for this midterm contest. The change concerns the national approach to international observation and is not directly linked to a single race or any candidate.

Why the decision matters

The rejection has drawn criticism for discouraging democratic transparency. For critics, the issue is the loss of outside observation and reporting that had regularly accompanied U.S. election contests.

Because OSCE observers had been welcomed for more than 20 years, their exclusion sets this midterm contest apart from the recurring practice used in prior presidential and midterm cycles. The decision changes whether this international organization can carry out the same monitoring role in the United States during the contest.

Attention now turns to how Trump implements the rejection and whether his administration gives a fuller explanation for ending the customary invitation.