by Alan Macleod
Part 3 - Media Undermines a Trustworthy Process
Western media appeared as eager as the U.S. government to undermine the elections in Venezuela and agitate for political strife. “Venezuela’s Autocrat Is Declared Winner in Tainted Election,” ran the New York Times headline. The BBC described Maduro’s celebration party as “choreographed,” implying he does not enjoy widespread support. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Twitter, retweeted a call from far-right Argentinian politician Javier Milei to the Venezuelan military to stage a coup against Maduro. “Shame on dictator Maduro,” Musk said.
Fake news abounds on social media as well, as images circulate of thieves supposedly stealing election boxes full of ballots. What can clearly be seen in those videos, however, are people taking huge air conditioning units. Ballot boxes in Venezuela are made of brown cardboard and are barely larger than a shoebox. The giant white appliances thieves drag out with them in the video bear zero resemblance to ballot boxes.
Hoax pictures, supposedly showing National Electoral Council (CNE) headquarters with screens all showing the “real” result (an opposition victory), went viral, as did a screenshot from a TeleSUR infographic that incorrectly stated that three minor opposition parties received 4.6% of the vote each, instead of combined. This meant the entire vote on TeleSUR’s graphic added up to 109%. That relatively minor data entry error was enough for the image to go viral around the world, supposedly proving a gigantic fraud, despite the fact that its source was merely a TV channel rather than the CNE itself.
Fake news abounds on social media as well, as images circulate of thieves supposedly stealing election boxes full of ballots. What can clearly be seen in those videos, however, are people taking huge air conditioning units. Ballot boxes in Venezuela are made of brown cardboard and are barely larger than a shoebox. The giant white appliances thieves drag out with them in the video bear zero resemblance to ballot boxes.
Hoax pictures, supposedly showing National Electoral Council (CNE) headquarters with screens all showing the “real” result (an opposition victory), went viral, as did a screenshot from a TeleSUR infographic that incorrectly stated that three minor opposition parties received 4.6% of the vote each, instead of combined. This meant the entire vote on TeleSUR’s graphic added up to 109%. That relatively minor data entry error was enough for the image to go viral around the world, supposedly proving a gigantic fraud, despite the fact that its source was merely a TV channel rather than the CNE itself.
In reality, the Venezuelan electoral system is perhaps the most advanced in the world. To cast a ballot, voters must present their national identification card. They also have their fingerprints scanned. If both the I.D. card and fingerprint match those on the national database, they can vote on a touchscreen electronic voting machine. The electronic vote is sent to the National Electoral Commission headquarters in Caracas, and a paper ballot is printed. Voters must check the ballot and place it in a box. Afterward, they must put their thumb on an ink blot and stamp it next to their name on an electoral roll to prove they have voted. They then physically sign their name beside the fingerprint.
When polls close, paper ballots are counted in front of witnesses from all parties and compared to the electronic vote count. If there are any discrepancies, a full audit is conducted. In 2013, the electronic vote was 99.98% accurate. This was because, across Venezuela, 22 people who had voted on the machines failed to put their paper ballot in the box.
In 2012, President Jimmy Carter (whose Carter Center regularly monitors elections worldwide) described the Venezuelan process as “the best in the world.”
“Everything has been calm to the point of boring,” Dean said of the election process, adding:
“Everything has been calm to the point of boring,” Dean said of the election process, adding:
People are happy and welcoming tons of foreigners to look and see what they are doing and explain it patiently, with confidence and real enthusiasm for democracy. Actually, I think that one of the reasons that there is so much cynicism in the United States about democracy is that people don’t trust the system. And here, part of their enthusiasm is that they have a lot of confidence in their system, that their voice will be heard.
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