European election observers decry Trump's 'baseless allegations' of voter fraud

"Nobody - no politician, no elected official, nobody - should limit the people's right to vote," said Michael Georg Link, a member of the German parliament who led the lawmakers sent by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to observe a U.S. election for the ninth time.

"Coming after such a highly dynamic campaign, making sure that every vote is counted is a fundamental obligation of all branches of government," he said. "Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent President, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions."

At the invitation of the State Department, the OSCE sent over 100 observers to more than 30 states to watch the vote. The preliminary findings they released Wednesday will be followed by a more comprehensive report early next year by the election monitoring branch of the OSCE. 

The observers expressed a measure of admiration for the administration of the election, and a heavy dose of criticism. They portrayed Election Day and the early voting in preceding weeks as "competitive and well-managed" amid the coronavirus pandemic, despite the more than 400 lawsuits already filed in 44 states.

But the preliminary report spread its criticism broadly. It expressed concern about the "acrimonious campaign rhetoric," especially by Trump, who the observers said had often blurred the lines between campaigning and governing. 

The team said the media had provided accurate information. But it accused cable networks of infusing their reporting with opinion and bias and newspapers of showing political leanings. It said online websites "regularly presented exaggerated or ungrounded messages" that were amplified by social media. 

Urszula Gacek, a former Polish diplomat who led the observers from the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said a team that visited post offices to watch the handling of mail-in ballots found "nothing untoward."

"We feel that allegations of systemic wrongdoing in these elections have no solid ground," she said. "The system has held up well."

The observers' biggest criticism was for Trump's remarks and his conduct. In releasing the report, Gacek said she was impressed by the high voter turnout "despite deliberate attempts by the incumbent president to weaken confidence in the election process."

The report lambasted Trump's "discriminatory and pejorative" statements against women and others, and charged he had misused his position.

"The distinction between state and party activities was not always respected, as the incumbent president repeatedly used his official capacity for political advantage," it said.

The report said "most candidates" had misrepresented facts, "especially from the incumbent president, thereby detracting from the ability of voters to accurately appraise the candidate's views and qualifications." And it criticized Trump for refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses and his repeated claims that the election was rigged. 

"Such statements by an incumbent president weaken public confidence in state institutions and were perceived by many as increasing the potential for politically motivated violence after the elections," the report said.