WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after the Trump Administration refused to invite international election observers to monitor the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. This marks the first time in more than two decades that the United States government is not inviting the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE’s) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) to observe the midterm elections.
“The Trump Administration’s decision not to invite international observers to the United States is deeply antithetical to the spirit of freedom, democracy and transparency that defines our elections. The OSCE has observed every midterm election in the United States since 2002, and the Trump Administration’s failure to continue this practice is yet another step that risks undermining public trust in America’s safe and secure election system.
“I was an official election monitor in the country of Georgia in 2012 and most recently in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022, so I know firsthand the importance of showing up for Allies and partners to improve the public’s confidence in election integrity. The OSCE does just that. It is a community—comprised of many of the United States’ closest allies—that has committed to hold each other to the highest standards of democracy and human rights. I urge the Trump Administration to respect the role of independent election observers and ensure that the United States holds itself to the same standards that we would expect of any other democracy.”
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