Electoral Transparency Foundation’s Statement on the United States 2024 General Election
The Electoral Transparency Foundation deployed an Electoral Mission to follow the United States General Election of November 5th, 2024. More than 130 election authorities and officials, academics, specialists, and government officials from Latin America participated in the three simultaneous agendas that were held in the District of Columbia, and the Counties of Miami-Dade (FL) and Los Angeles (CA).
The objective of the Electoral Mission was for participants to get closer to the United States electoral system, understand its particularities and exchange experiences and observations with their peers.
Although it was not a rigorous electoral observation, the Electoral Transparency Foundation’s team has made some observations based on monitoring the electoral process with the purpose of promoting the strengthening of electoral integrity and voter confidence.
The program included academic meetings, encounters with electoral authorities, civil society organizations and visits to voting centers.
Below are the details of the activities:
- Agenda in the District of Columbia
The agenda in Washington DC took place between November 4th and 6th, and was made up of a group of 80 people, including national and local election authorities and officials, senior government officials, experts and academics. The activities were coordinated by Eduardo Repilloza-Fernández (Director General of the Electoral Transparency Foundation), Luis Miguel Santibáñez (Coordinator for Mexico and Central America) and Bruno Martins (Coordinator for Brazil).
The inaugural event was the seminar “Electoral Administration and Election Security in the United States”, organized in cooperation with the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) of the Florida International University (FIU), in which prominent academics and experts offered a comprehensive vision of the US electoral system.
Among the most notable panels were:
- History of Elections in the United States, presented by Michael Kazin, Professor in the Department of History, Georgetown University.
- Campaigns and Political Financing, with the presentations of Omar Franco, Senior Director at Becker; Maria Luisa Boyce, VP of International Policy for Global Public Affairs at UPS, and Ivelisse Porroa-Garcia Senior Vice President, Crossroads Strategy.
- Electoral Security and Cybersecurity, with presentations of David Levine, former Senior Elections Integrity Fellow, Alliance For Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund, y Paige Mellerio, Legislative Director, Finance, Pensions & Intergovernmental Affairs del Local Government Legal Center of the National Association of Counties (NACo).
- How do the media cover elections? With prominent journalists like Javier Vega from Telemundo and Niala Boodhoo from Axios.
At the end of the academic agenda, the members of the mission from Brazil were received by the Brazilian Ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.
For their part, the rest of the members met with the Secretary for the Strengthening of Democracy of the Organization of American States (OAS), Francisco Guerrero, and the Director of the Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO), Gerardo de Icaza.
On Election Day, participants visited several voting centers in the County of Montgomery, Maryland, after the Maryland State Board of Elections accredited the Electoral Transparency Foundation to observe its elections.
During the last day of the agenda the group visited the United States Capitol where the Mission was received by the team of Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Chair of the Foreign Policy Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere.
Next, the delegation went to Georgetown University where they held discussions with Ricardo Ernst, Executive Director of the Latin American Leadership Program.
Finally, they participated in 2 master classes on post-election scenarios and its impact in Latin America by Michael Shifter, former President of the Inter-American Dialogue and Professor at Georgetown University, and Juan Luis Manfredi, Visiting Professor and Prince of Asturias Professor at Georgetown University.
- Agenda in the Miami-Dade County
INA delegation of 40 people participated in an agenda of activities coordinated by Leandro Querido, Founder of the Electoral Transparency Foundation, Regis Dandoy, Director of the Center for European Studies at USFQ, and lawyer Edgar Rodríguez.
The first activity was the Seminar: Florida at the Polls: Political and Legal Framework, Foreign Influence and the Cuban Vote in the 2024 Elections”, an academic day organized by the Florida International University (FIU).
The session was opened by Leandro Querido and Gabriela Hoberman, Director of Academic Programs at the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University (FIU).
Featured activities included:
- Round Table: “The elections and Florida and their impact at the national level”, with the participation of Dario Moreno, Professor of Political Science at Florida International University (FIU); Kevin Evans and Daniel Pedreira, both Political Science professors at FIU.
- Panel on Legal Aspects of the Electoral Process, where Raquel Rodriguez, Shareholder at Buchanan; and Jose Fuentes, Senior Corporate and Government Relations Director, Becker & Poliakoff. They addressed issues such as the regulation of political finance and voter rights.
- Round Table on the Influence of External Actors, moderated by Gabriela Hoberman, Director of Academic Programs, Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, with presentations by Brian Fonseca, Director, Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy y Leland Lazarus, Associate Director of National Security Policy, Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy,
The event ended with the panel «The Cuban community in Miami and the November vote”, presented by Guillermo Grenier, Professor of Global and Sociocultural Studies at FIU.
The delegation was later received by Maureen Porras, Doral City Councilwoman and immigration specialist.
During Election Day, participants visited several voting centers in Miami-Dade County, and visited the offices of the Department of Elections of Miami-Dade County.
- Agenda in the County of Los Angeles
On November 4th and 5th, the Electoral Transparency Foundation’s delegation made up of 15 people participated in an agenda of activities to accompany the elections in the County of Los Angeles, California. The Coordination was in charge of Nayma Enríquez Estrada, who is also the Coordinator of the Observatory of Women in Politics of the Electoral Transparency Foundation.
The activities began with a visit to the City Hall of Beverly Hills where the group held a meeting with the City Clerk, Huma Ahmed.
On Monday afternoon, the delegation visited the Operations Center of the “Voting Solution for All People” (VSAP) system, where they became familiar with the functionalities of the voting instrument used in the County.
During Tuesday morning, the group visited several voting centers in Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles, and in the afternoon visited the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center, where the counting of all votes takes place.
- Comments and observations
- Decentralized Electoral Administration
Decentralized and managed by thousands of local jurisdictions, America’s election administration enjoys the widespread trust of voters. Alternative voting methods were observed, increasing public confidence in voting by mail.
However, it is necessary to strengthen the role of federal institutions such as the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) or the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
- Inequality in electoral access and representation
Despite the constitutional guarantee of voting rights, there are significant restrictions: Many people with criminal records, even after serving their sentences, remain unable to vote, although some states have taken steps to restore their rights.
- Challenges in voter registration and voter identification
The lack of a national voter registration data sharing system contributes to outdated records. Additionally, the issue of voter identification continues to be politically contentious, disproportionately affecting specific groups.
- Inequality in Gender Representation and Electoral Competition
In these elections, only 9.7% of candidates for the House of Representatives and 30% for the Senate were women, reflecting a marked lack of gender parity. Likewise, some states require high requirements for registering candidacies from small and independent parties, thus limiting competition. In 37 districts, only one party presented a candidate, restricting competitiveness.
- International electoral observation
Electoral observation is regulated by state legislation, with very different standards and scope. International observation is prohibited in 17 states, and in practice the ban is applied in many others.
It is essential to advance in shared standards that guarantee the participation of domestic and international monitors.
- Polarization and electoral violence
The campaign took place in a context of polarization and high conflict. Among the most worrying events was the assassination attempt against former President Trump.
While Harris reduced the election to a battle to preserve freedoms and democracy, Trump’s confrontational rhetoric affected minorities and immigrants, and even called into question respect for the electoral results.
- Conclusion
The elections in the United States reflect both important achievements and challenges. Confidence in the electoral administration, transparency on the day and the variety of voting methods reinforce democratic participation. However, limitations on voting access, lack of representation, and political polarization intensify the need for inclusive reforms and verification mechanisms.
*With information from the OSCE preliminary findings statement
