Shane Cassells… ‘My role in monitoring one of the most divisive elections in recent history’

“I just want to find 11,780 votes.” These were the infamous words of one Donald J Trump to Georgia’s top election official four years ago as he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results.

After the Electoral College vote, he urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find the votes for him, but the Republican official rebuffed him and replied that the results were correct.

We know all this because the Washington Post newspaper released a recording of the conversation, allowing the openly blatant attempt to steal the presidential election to be heard around the world.

But astonishingly, it was Trump himself and all his supporters who claimed the 2020 election was stolen.

This baseless claim led to the truly incredible scenes on January 6, 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the seat of Congress and threatened the vice president’s life.

It is difficult to believe that anywhere in the world a politician who openly supported the uprising would be entertained by the public into running for re-election.

But in the world’s largest democracy, this is not only entertained, but for millions of Americans, Trump is seen as a savior of the democracy he tried to destroy.

So here we are again four years later and the Don is back.

As we enter the final week of the campaign, this election has had it all.

A sitting president resigning, an assassination attempt on someone else and a Kennedy supporting the Republican candidate.

After the events of 2020, there will be a renewed focus on the integrity of the electoral process so that there can be no doubt who the winner is when the dust settles.

Election observers from around the world will be deployed to polling places across the vast swaths of America, monitoring progress and making sure everything is Hunky Dory.

And that’s where yours really comes in as I carry out my final election mission after nine years of working with the overseeing organization.

Two years ago, I was in America as an election observer for the midterm contest, which was a real barometer for the Biden administration.

I was deployed to rural Virginia, where polling places ranged from high schools to community centers and even swimming pools.

Myself and my colleague, Senator Pauline O’Reilly, were walking through people’s gardens when we got lost when Google Maps failed us.

The parties set up gazebos outside each polling station and gave them socks as voters approached, trying to convince them to vote for their candidate.

It was like Ireland in the 1970s!

What I can say is that the way the polling stations were run was exemplary.

When voters arrived, they were given paper ballots, which they filled out in secure booths. They then placed those ballots into a machine that scanned their vote into the computer system, while also holding the paper ballot.

At the end of the day, a unit was removed from the machine and taken to a central voting center where the results could be announced immediately.

Voters were cheered for the first time at polling stations and all volunteers working at the centers took a public oath of allegiance to the flag before doing their duty.

America knew the eyes of the world were on them after the 2020 debacle and they wanted to show that their democracy was resilient.

Voters thanked us ‘for our services’ as they passed our observer station in the centres.

Of course, much more is at stake next week, and former President Trump is already making it clear to his supporters that Democrats are once again trying to steal the election.

The latest poll shows that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leads Trump with 49.2 percent to 47.5 percent.

This goes straight to the extreme, with a few key swing states actually deciding who will govern the most influential country in the world.

North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan are all things to keep an eye on.

Once I’m done with my observation duties for the day, I know I’ll be heading to the nearest sports bar, which will be transformed on election night to show all the results coming in from around the country.

History will be made one way or another as we may see the first ever female president elected or Trump’s comeback.

Whatever happens, we know it will have an impact around the world, including Ireland.

For those of you staying up the night, enjoy the gladiator battle and let’s hope the chaos of four years ago isn’t repeated.