U.S. election: observations from polling stations monitored by Ukrainian MPs

The largest lines at U.S. polling stations tend to form in the morning and evening. At the polling stations where Ukrainian members of parliament are acting as observers, around 200 people have cast their votes for U.S. presidential candidates so far.

This was reported by Ukrainian MP Mykyta Poturaiev, head of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy and Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in a comment to Ukrinform.

"We are currently working in the state of Maryland, in the city of Annapolis, known for hosting the oldest U.S. Naval Academy. We also opened a polling station in Washington, D.C. The atmosphere at the polling sites is very calm," he noted.

According to Poturaiev, Election Day in the U.S. is a regular working day, not a holiday. "Therefore, when polling stations open at 7:00, many people try to cast their votes before work, which leads to queues in the morning."

The OSCE mission monitoring the elections in the U.S. does not include observers from Russia or Belarus, he added. Poturaiev expects lines to form again after the workday, around 17:00, but noted that currently, the polling stations are relatively empty.

He emphasized the calm and friendly atmosphere, saying, "There is no tension anywhere."

The Vice-President of the OSCE highlighted a significant difference from Ukraine’s electoral system: U.S. polling stations do not require voters to register with a specific station, so "citizens can go to any polling station to cast their vote."

"So far, roughly 100-200 people have voted at our stations. We’ve seen this in the lists of those who have voted, which are updated every hour," he explained.

As reported by Ukrinform, the U.S. presidential election takes place on November 5, 2024.