International observers say voting in U.S. election 'calm, peaceful'

International election observers deployed in the U.S. tweeted on Tuesday that voting had proceeded with calm, despite fears of tension or voter intimidation in the run-up to November 3.  

Andrej Hunko, a German parliamentarian observing the election, posted a video on Twitter late Tuesday, local time, from Chesterfield in St. Louis County, Missouri, where he said he had already visited eight polling stations. 

"Overall, everything was calm and peaceful, there was no tension, no voter intimidation as we had feared," he said. 

He noted that the observers had driven all over the county, which has about one million voters, and would also observe the counting of mail-in ballots, which have become a major talking point in this election, as voters have sought alternatives to visiting polling stations during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hunko was part of a team of observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, which routinely sends observers all around the world to check that elections are held in accordance with democratic standards.

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