Repost from Daily Torch.
In 1999, Tim Meisburger helped Indonesia run its first open election in almost half a century.
“The people were very distrustful of the process because in the past the party in power rigged elections to get the outcome they wanted,” Meisburger, former Director of Democracy and Governance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, explained. The United States helped fund more than 500,000 election observers across the country to prevent voter fraud and ballot tampering.
“Because of that scrutiny, the elections were fair and honest,” Meisburger added.
Today, Meisburger is trying to get America to adopt the same election integrity measures we encourage other countries to use to build confidence in their elections.
According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted in the days following last fall’s presidential election, 70 percent of Republicans didn’t believe the 2020 election was free and fair.
“It’s clear many Americans still don’t trust the results of the 2020 elections, and it is vital that we restore that trust,” Meisburger said. “I can’t predict what would happen if we don’t. But I can tell you what I’ve seen in other countries. When the people don’t trust the election results, they stop voting and eventually take to the streets in protest.”