Russian Observers To Watch U.S. Elections

The Russians are Coming

(CNSNews.com) – When American voters go to the polls on November 6, an international team invited by the State Department to observe the elections will include six Russians, selected and paid for by President Vladimir Putin’s government.

The six Russians, including two members of the country’s Central Election Commission, will join 30 others from 11 other countries – all members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – to assess the mid-term elections “for compliance with international obligations and standards for democratic elections.”

The mission, which will also “analyze and assess the media coverage of the campaign,” will present a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions the day after the elections, and then produce a final report around two months later.

“Obviously, we have serious concerns about Russian participation in the observation mission based on their attempts to attack our democracy and undermine American’s confidence in our elections process,” said Maria Dill Benson, director of communications for the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS).

Benson told CNSNews.com the State Department had assured NASS that “prior to receiving U.S. visas, the Russian observers were fully vetted with all the necessary security checks.”

Apart from the Russians, the 36 “long-term” observers, who are already on the ground in the United States, comprise 10 each from Germany and Switzerland, three from the Czech Republic, and one each from Azerbaijan, Bosnia, France, Georgia, Ireland, Macedonia and Montenegro.

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