Thought experiment

[aphar]

Imagine Cuba (or some other dictatorship that conducts perfunctory elections) claims that the elections are free and invites observers.

What do you think international observers would say about these "features"?

• the only pre-requisite for voting is registering, which requires no ID
• the only requirement for voting is a signature, which requires no ID
• one can vote by mail, which requires no ID - and nothing at all

Do you think the observers will validate the elections?

PS. It is not enough to be honest, one must also look honest.

Comments

[gingema]

Another thought experiment - imagine a publicly traded company running elections this way, and see what auditors have to say about it.

[gene_i]

Not sure it is a good analogy - in a dictatorship they would probably require full ID at every step (to make sure that they know who is going to vote and who will vote "incorrectly").
But agree with the main point!

[aphar]

Dictatorships are versatile and may change strategies as necessary.