Ana Vanessa Herrero

Each vote requires a person's government-issued ID, their fingerprint, a choice on the voting machine, and a paper copy generated by the machine that the voter has to put in a box. So there are many points in the process where a person moving slowly can really gum things up.

Each vote requires a person's government-issued ID, their fingerprint, a choice on the voting machine, and a paper copy generated by the machine that the voter has to put in a box. So there are many points in the process where a person moving slowly can really gum things up.

Maria suspected that putting all the old people in one line was a deliberate attempt to slow the process and discourage people from voting.

Maria suspected that putting all the old people in one line was a deliberate attempt to slow the process and discourage people from voting.

Looking into this, I think it's likely this was just random chance that more older voters were concentrated at one voting machine. Voters are pre-assigned to specific voting machines long before election day. But Maria still believes it was a deliberate attempt to slow down and discourage voting. Everyone in Maria's account of this day she just refers to by their title, like they're in a play.

Looking into this, I think it's likely this was just random chance that more older voters were concentrated at one voting machine. Voters are pre-assigned to specific voting machines long before election day. But Maria still believes it was a deliberate attempt to slow down and discourage voting. Everyone in Maria's account of this day she just refers to by their title, like they're in a play.

First, the chavista. Next up, the soldier. There were actually three soldiers at the voting center. The soldiers are in voting centers, supposedly, to guard the voting process. Maria focused on the one in charge, prodding him if she saw anything that went against what was outlined in the election law pamphlet she was holding. All day she was on him, any small deviation from the official process.

First, the chavista. Next up, the soldier. There were actually three soldiers at the voting center. The soldiers are in voting centers, supposedly, to guard the voting process. Maria focused on the one in charge, prodding him if she saw anything that went against what was outlined in the election law pamphlet she was holding. All day she was on him, any small deviation from the official process.

And she said in the middle of the day, she really got on his case because the line for the other voting machine stopped altogether. And she said it stayed stopped for more than two hours.

And she said in the middle of the day, she really got on his case because the line for the other voting machine stopped altogether. And she said it stayed stopped for more than two hours.

Maria, is it hard for you to be vocal like that, to stand up? Or is that how you usually are?

Maria, is it hard for you to be vocal like that, to stand up? Or is that how you usually are?

There's a fervor in the way Maria describes her own vigilance that day that might sound familiar to Americans, like in other countries' Stop the Steal movement, which also mobilized voters around the country to go to their voting center on Election Day with a copy of local election laws and their suspicion and their willingness to speak up. Venezuela's election was like that. And it wasn't.

There's a fervor in the way Maria describes her own vigilance that day that might sound familiar to Americans, like in other countries' Stop the Steal movement, which also mobilized voters around the country to go to their voting center on Election Day with a copy of local election laws and their suspicion and their willingness to speak up. Venezuela's election was like that. And it wasn't.

At all. The politics in Venezuela don't really map onto a sort of, well, who are the Republicans and who are the Democrats grid. The political party in power has the word socialist in its name, but mainly it's an authoritarian government. The opposition is a coalition that ranges in economic ideas from center-left to Margaret Thatcher. And it hasn't been in power for 25 years.

At all. The politics in Venezuela don't really map onto a sort of, well, who are the Republicans and who are the Democrats grid. The political party in power has the word socialist in its name, but mainly it's an authoritarian government. The opposition is a coalition that ranges in economic ideas from center-left to Margaret Thatcher. And it hasn't been in power for 25 years.

Venezuela's voting system is very different from ours. In the United States, each state has different rules and procedures for voting, different days and hours people are allowed to vote, different timelines for counting votes, different officials who certify results. In Venezuela, it's one system across the whole country.

Venezuela's voting system is very different from ours. In the United States, each state has different rules and procedures for voting, different days and hours people are allowed to vote, different timelines for counting votes, different officials who certify results. In Venezuela, it's one system across the whole country.

And one of the most important things they have is that for every vote, the voting machine produces a paper copy of the vote that the voter takes in hand and puts in a box at the voting center. And at the end of the day, about 30% of those boxes are randomly opened for a hand count of the paper ballots as a cross-check on the machine's count.

And one of the most important things they have is that for every vote, the voting machine produces a paper copy of the vote that the voter takes in hand and puts in a box at the voting center. And at the end of the day, about 30% of those boxes are randomly opened for a hand count of the paper ballots as a cross-check on the machine's count.