Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen correspondent to southern Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launched a raid on the Ksar Zaatar neighborhood in western Nabatieh.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The tower destroyed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza includes media offices, including Al Mayadeen's bureau.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7

US midterms: The new 'voting integrity' militias - Le Monde

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Le Monde
  • 5 Nov 2022 22:47
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

The columnist in Le Monde, Gille Paris, writes about the US midterm elections as seen from his "French perspective." How did he see them?

  • x
  • Signage directs voters to a ballot drop box for early voting outside of the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center ahead of the Arizona midterm elections in Phoenix, Arizona on November 3, 2022. PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP
    Signage directs voters to a ballot drop box for early voting outside of the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center ahead of the Arizona midterm elections in Phoenix, Arizona on November 3, 2022 (PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP)

In an article by the political columnist and former US correspondent, Gilles Paris, entitled "US midterms: The new 'voting integrity' militias", French newspaper Le Monde said that "Armed militias 'defending' the vote are the unexpected new element in the 2022 midterm elections."

The article wonders about what could possibly go wrong and adds that almost two years after the attack "against the US Capitol by a mob contesting the 2020 presidential election, a new player is trying to break into the midterms: armed militias claiming to protect the integrity of the vote."

Gilles Paris noted how dangerous this is, explaining that "It took a judge in Arizona, a ground zero for election denialism, to restate the obvious. Taking photos or videos of voters dropping their ballot at a voting box, posting information about them online, and openly carrying firearms and wearing body armor while patrolling around those voting places is more about intimidation than about protecting this civic duty (not to mention the fact that simply associating the words "firearms" and "polling station" makes any normal European brain go haywire)."

Paris talked about the lack of safety "when election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) warn among other things in an interim report that 'these partisan observers may use their position to unduly interfere in the process on election day.'"

"An OSCE report using this kind of tone generally refers to a country of the former Soviet bloc with still faltering democratic institutions," Paris noted, "not a self-proclaimed model of democracy like the United States."

"The group involved in the Arizona court case, Clean Elections USA, said it was 'hunting mules'", Paris adds, explaining "mules" and relating it to a controversial documentary, 2,000 Mules, that was directed by a conservative activist who was convicted in 2014 of illegal campaign contribution but pardoned by ex-US president Donald Trump in 2018.

Related News

Seoul presses Washington after Georgia raid on South Korean workers

Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela

The documentary claimed that unnamed nonprofit organizations paid "mules," a slang term for smugglers, to illegally collect ballots in key swing states during the last presidential election.

Paris wrote that this "biased creation, laced with allegations of massive voter fraud that were subsequently proved to be false, is based on testimonies from groups that are on the front line today as well as a senior fellow from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank."

The documentary was an inspiration to Clean Election USA's founder, Melody Jennings, according to her claims.

"Clean Election USA is not the only group on the front line trying to 'defend' the integrity of the voting process. Led by Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who aided Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, the Election Integrity Network is also involved in assembling what it calls an  'army of citizens' to monitor elections," Paris wrote.

Another active voice led by election conspiracy theorists is True the Vote, he added, mentioning that its two leaders were imprisoned for not adhering to a court order to provide data "in a defamation lawsuit over some of the claims they made in 2,000 Mules."

Paris reminded that in 2020, right before the presidential election, Donald Trump Jr. made an appeal to "every able-bodied man and woman to join the army for Trump’s election security operation".

While his call to action was not successful then, "his expected army of poll watchers might show up this year in what could be a dress rehearsal for the 2024 presidential election," Paris noted.

The columnist concluded his article by saying that things "could turn ugly" as former Trump strategic adviser Stephen Bannon warned that 'we’re going to be there and enforce those rules, and we’ll challenge any vote, any ballot, and you’re going to have to live with it, OK? We don’t care if you don’t like it. We don’t care if you’re going to run around and light your hair on fire. That’s the way this is going to roll.'"

  • United States
  • armed groups
  • France
  • US midterm elections
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
President Nicolas Maduro gestures to supporters during the inauguration of a monument in China's honor on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, September 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Politics

Netanyahu informed Trump before deadly attack in Doha: Reports

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold a joint press conference at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Monday, September 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu warns of Israeli isolation, calls to boost self-reliance

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide
Politics

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS