What do Germany, Ecuador, Armenia, and Albania have in common? Probably not much—except that in the past few months, they’ve all become part of our election marathon. Since February, our team has been racing across time zones, teaming up with amazing local organizations to support election observation in eight countries and 10 election rounds. We’ve gone from youth-led observation missions to expert-only deployments, from sleepless nights (8-hour time difference between Bucharest and Ecuador!) to energy fueled election days and nights. We worked long hours, learned fast, and even taught Vote Monitor two new languages—Spanish and Armenian! But more than anything, we grew—not just in scale, but in purpose. Because this work has never only been about ticking boxes or uploading data. It’s about standing shoulder to shoulder with those fighting for democracy, sharing their highs and lows, and doing whatever it takes to help their voices be heard—even if that means 3 a.m. bug fixes and Zoom calls with one eye open and the other on the Vote Monitor results dashboard.
So, what did those election rounds actually look like? Let’s take a quick trip around the map and share some of the highlights, challenges, and new friends we made along the way.
KOSOVO
We started this busy period working with our longtime partners at EPDE (European Platform for Democratic Elections), a network founded in 2012 that brings together independent citizen election observation organizations across Europe. EPDE is a signatory to the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and a member of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM), promoting high professional standards in citizen-led election monitoring. Our collaboration with EPDE began in 2024, during the European parliamentary elections in Romania—and it’s been growing ever since.
On February 9, 2025, during the parliamentary elections in Kosovo, 16 observers from EPDE used Vote Monitor to cover 40 polling stations. Throughout the day, they answered 1,153 questions on procedures like opening, voting, and counting, and submitted seven quick reports flagging urgent violations.
GERMANY
Just two weeks later, on February 23, we supported EPDE again for one of the most important Bundestag elections of 2025 in Germany. This was the first time Vote Monitor, developed initially in Romania, was used to observe German elections as part of a citizen observation mission. While most of our team in Bucharest supported the mission online, Commit Global staff were also on the ground, helping with training sessions before election day and providing support throughout the day. It was a great experience working alongside EPDE observers, who bring expertise from all over Europe and Central Asia. And only in Germany did we see a polling station open inside a beer pub — truly a German experience.
Since most of these observers come from local election organizations across the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe, it was great to bring them together and show how technology could make their work easier while making their fight for democracy more powerful. We were happy to give them the chance to use Vote Monitor in a real election setting and hear their feedback on how the tool fits their specific contexts.
ARMENIA
In Armenia, we supported snap community elections in Parakar and Gyumri together with the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly–Vanadzor (HCAV). While it was our first time joining an observation mission in Armenia, it wasn’t our first time working with HCAV. We had already teamed up during the 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia and again in Germany’s Bundestag elections, where they joined as part of the EPDE coalition.
This time, observers covered an impressive 98.98% of all polling stations, marking the first time that Vote Monitor was used to observe almost every polling station in one election round. On election day alone, 2,023 questions were answered in the app, and 28 urgent violations were flagged and reported.
It was a proud moment for us to see HCAV’s team take the tool and run with it. Their feedback has been crucial in shaping how Vote Monitor adapts to different electoral contexts, and Armenia’s mission marked an important step in expanding the tool’s reach and reliability.
EDUADOR
Our journey continued in South America as we observed the presidential runoff election in Ecuador where we partnered for the first time with Transparencia Electoral — an organization committed to promoting democratic values and improving electoral integrity across the region. Transparencia Electoral runs a range of programs focused on identifying threats to democracy, strengthening electoral processes, and training everyone from electoral officials to civil society groups in good electoral practices.
This mission was exciting for many reasons: it was our first time working in South America, with a new partner, in a completely different electoral environment. But it was also a significant test for Vote Monitor — could the tool adapt to a whole new context, language, and set of electoral procedures?
We’re happy to say: it did. A small expert group used Vote Monitor to observe the elections and answered 494 questions about the electoral proceedings throughout the day.
The experience gave us valuable insight into how the app performs in Latin America and marked an important step in making Vote Monitor a truly global tool.
With the first round of Romania’s presidential elections on May 4, we kicked off what quickly became our most intense stretch of the year—five election missions in four countries over just three weekends. From Romania to Albania, Argentina to Poland, May kept Commit Global’s team’s weekends fully booked.
ROMANIA
We started this election marathon close to home. On May 4, we observed the first round of Romania’s presidential elections—an experience that felt especially close to our hearts, as an organization that started creating tech for good in Romania for Romanian people.
For this mission, we once again worked with the Vot Corect coalition, continuing a partnership built over years of collaboration. Together, the coalition mission covered 997 polling stations around Romania and in Diaspora and answered 65320 questions with 965 flagged answers.
Two weeks later, we also supported the second round of the presidential elections once again in partnership with the Vot Corect coalition. This time, the observation mission grew significantly in scale—1,787 polling stations were covered, representing 8.96% of all polling stations, and observers answered an impressive 121,867 questions throughout the day. In addition, 1,735 observation forms and 187 quick reports were submitted, providing timely insights into how the process unfolded on the ground.
While the first round marked an important moment for accredited observers, it was also the debut of something new for us: the Vote Monitor Citizen account. For the first time, regular voters could submit reports and observations about their own experience on election day—directly and independently. The response across both rounds of the election was a strong sign of what’s possible: over 500 citizens submitted reports about the voting process, and more than 200 messages were received during the campaign period, flagging possible irregularities. It was a bold step toward more inclusive election observation—and one that showed just how ready people are to play a role in protecting democratic processes.
or / It was a powerful reminder that democratic engagement doesn’t end with casting a ballot—people are ready to participate in protecting the process itself.
ALBANIA
Just a week after Romania, we were in Albania, once again teaming up with Agora Election Observation (AEO). While it was our first time observing elections in Albania, it wasn’t our first time working with Agora—we previously collaborated during the Romanian parliamentary elections in 2024.
Agora Election Observation is a non-profit organization dedicated to building a democratic, participatory, and inclusive Europe, with a strong focus on youth engagement. One of their main goals is to train young people as international election observers and amplify the role of youth in democratic processes across the continent.
For the Parliamentary Elections on 11 May, Agora deployed 28 international observers from 14 different countries. The mission engaged with key stakeholders—election officials, political parties, youth organizations, and civil society and spreaded out across eight regions: Tiranë, Durrës, Vlorë, Fier, Berat, Lezhë, Shkodër, and Gjirokastër. On election day, observers visited 110 polling stations and submitted 142 observation forms covering every phase of the process: opening, voting, closing, and counting.
May 18, 2025
3 elections on 2 continents in 1 day
May 18 marked a new milestone for us—the first time we were involved in three election rounds in three different countries on the same day. It was a test of coordination, preparation, and teamwork. With polling stations opening hours apart across time zones—from South America to Eastern Europe—we had to plan carefully to make sure we could support each mission fully, no matter the hour.
POLAND
In Poland, we partnered with the Political Accountability Foundation (PAF) for the first round of the presidential elections. PAF, founded in 2016, has long been committed to increasing transparency and domestic observation in Poland, while also contributing to international observation efforts in Eastern Europe. They’ve been one of Vote Monitor’s earliest collaborators—since 2018—and their feedback has been instrumental in shaping the app to work across different electoral systems and contexts.
ARGENTINA
We were proud to support Transparencia Electoral once again, this time in Buenos Aires. While Vote Monitor wasn’t used directly in the field this time, it was meaningful to continue building the relationship and to be present in another key moment for democracy in the region.
... and we’re not done yet!
Our tenth election round will be on 1 June. We’ll be back in Poland with the Political Accountability Foundation for the second round of the presidential elections.
Ten elections. Four months.
These past months have been full of surprises and challenges—sometimes exhausting, sometimes exciting. But through it all, one thing has stayed clear: We don’t build tech for the sake of it. We build it because we know it can make a difference—especially for people working hard, often with limited resources, to protect democracy where it matters most. And what we carry forward from all of this isn’t just data or lessons learned—it’s the feeling of standing alongside people who believe their voices matter.
This spring, we went further than ever before. New partners, new countries, new challenges. And through it all, we stayed true to what we do best: showing up, adapting, and building tools that serve real needs on the ground.