Ana Vanessa Herrero

The night of the election, the results were announced a little after midnight on television. One of the people watching was Ana Vanessa Herrero, a reporter for The Washington Post. She'd been out covering the election all day. On election night, she was alone in a hotel room watching the results.

The night of the election, the results were announced a little after midnight on television. One of the people watching was Ana Vanessa Herrero, a reporter for The Washington Post. She'd been out covering the election all day. On election night, she was alone in a hotel room watching the results.

Did you say anything out loud just alone in this hotel room?

Did you say anything out loud just alone in this hotel room?

You said, I don't understand out loud.

You said, I don't understand out loud.

The Electoral Council said they'd been hacked, but presented no credible evidence of the hack. All they would say is that President Nicolas Maduro had won with just over 51% of the vote. No vote totals, just the percentage. And the opposition, one hour after the electoral council's announcement, made their own live announcement on X. They said, actually, we won. And we can prove it.

The Electoral Council said they'd been hacked, but presented no credible evidence of the hack. All they would say is that President Nicolas Maduro had won with just over 51% of the vote. No vote totals, just the percentage. And the opposition, one hour after the electoral council's announcement, made their own live announcement on X. They said, actually, we won. And we can prove it.

Turned out tens of thousands of volunteers in the opposition had managed to collect paper copies of the vote totals from most of the voting centers in the country, down to the level of each voting machine. The opposition began publishing those results on a website that anyone, anywhere would be able to access. And overnight, the world became different.

Turned out tens of thousands of volunteers in the opposition had managed to collect paper copies of the vote totals from most of the voting centers in the country, down to the level of each voting machine. The opposition began publishing those results on a website that anyone, anywhere would be able to access. And overnight, the world became different.

Ana's been reporting in Venezuela for 15 years. She's lived there all her life. And this election was not like others she's covered.

Ana's been reporting in Venezuela for 15 years. She's lived there all her life. And this election was not like others she's covered.

I clued into this election after it happened, and I could not stop reading about it. This was a plan to document the country's entire voting record. It was extraordinary. The plan was called 600K, 600K. For the network of 600,000 people around the country, the opposition estimated they would need to be in place on election day. I wanted to see inside this election, inside the opposition's plan.

I clued into this election after it happened, and I could not stop reading about it. This was a plan to document the country's entire voting record. It was extraordinary. The plan was called 600K, 600K. For the network of 600,000 people around the country, the opposition estimated they would need to be in place on election day. I wanted to see inside this election, inside the opposition's plan.

I wanted to know how the opposition did what it did and how they did it so fast. In an era of chronic, virulent misinformation and mistrust, they pulled off a giant convincing. So I talked to an organizer of 600K. You won't hear his voice.

I wanted to know how the opposition did what it did and how they did it so fast. In an era of chronic, virulent misinformation and mistrust, they pulled off a giant convincing. So I talked to an organizer of 600K. You won't hear his voice.

Police have been stopping people on the street, looking in their phones, to see if they've been to protests or have expressed doubt about the official election results. The organizer told me he went into hiding after the election. Now he's left the country. He said, Some of the plan was carried out in secret. Other parts were done in plain sight.

Police have been stopping people on the street, looking in their phones, to see if they've been to protests or have expressed doubt about the official election results. The organizer told me he went into hiding after the election. Now he's left the country. He said, Some of the plan was carried out in secret. Other parts were done in plain sight.

600K was set up to work essentially like a giant relay race, and instead of a baton, people would hand off a piece of paper. Every voting machine in Venezuela prints out a long, narrow sheet of paper at the end of the voting day. Looks like one of those epic receipts from CVS or Rite Aid, but on special paper.

600K was set up to work essentially like a giant relay race, and instead of a baton, people would hand off a piece of paper. Every voting machine in Venezuela prints out a long, narrow sheet of paper at the end of the voting day. Looks like one of those epic receipts from CVS or Rite Aid, but on special paper.