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Many cities and businesses in the United States are bracing for the possibility of violence and chaos following the announcement of the results of the 2020 presidential elections, which are fraught with great risks and tense sentiments.
Although about 100 million Americans have benefited from early voting by mail, more than 50 million are expected to vote in person in the election, a significant increase compared to the 139 million who voted in 2016.
But the looming threat of election-related violence and sabotage in American cities and streets prompted many business owners to cover their windows as a precaution or close their stores.
In Florida, some famous stores, including “Macy’s,” “Target” and “CVS” have stepped up security measures to prevent damage to their stores, amid fears of post-election violence.
On October 27, Brookings Institution Research, in a report, said that “the stakes are high for this election and the national mood seems bleak.”
The report added that “violence can manifest itself in large and small forms.”
The prospect of postponing or contesting election results raises concern among Americans that commercial and residential properties could be damaged in the event of riots.
In 16 US states, more than 3,600 National Guard service personnel have been deployed, while reserve components of the US Army and Air Force remain vigilant for potential disruptions.
Duties of service members include assisting polling stations, providing cybersecurity support, and responding on Election Day and after protests.
About $ 200,000 was spent to purchase protective gear and train staff on how to deal with the protests, while 300 National Guard personnel were deployed to Alabama and Arizona, while the state of Massachusetts ordered 1,000 troops on standby if it was necessary.
Along the same lines, Texas said it could send up to 1,000 troops if necessary.
Democrats cited statements by US President Donald Trump that seemed to welcome, encourage and warn of violence if he doesn’t win.
And in several statements, Trump indicated that he would not commit to the peaceful transfer of power unless the elections were far from “fraud.”
Elections on the impact of divisions
After a stormy election campaign that revealed the depth of political divisions in the United States, Americans flocked to the polls on Tuesday to choose between incumbent President Donald Trump and his rival, Joe Biden, to lead a country suffering from the Corona virus pandemic, for the next four years.
Voters lined up in front of polling stations across the country to cast their votes, showing no signs of polling station problems that some feared would occur after a heated campaign marked by provocative speech.
And before Election Day, just over 100 million Americans had already voted early, either in person or by mail, according to the University of Florida Election Project in the US, due to fears that polling stations are packed during the Corona pandemic and intense excitement.
Overall, voters broke records and led some experts to expect the highest voting rates since 1908.
Biden, the former Democratic vice president who spent half a century in public life, has made steady progress in US polls of the Republican president.
But Trump is competing with him in several critical states to the extent that he can repeat what he did in 2016 when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton despite losing the national popular vote by some 3 million votes.
“I think we’re going to have a great night … but it’s politics and elections and you never know (how it will go),” Trump said during an appearance in Arlington, Virginia, across from Washington across the Potomac River, while thanking campaign workers.
“Winning is easy. Losing is never easy, it’s not like that for me,” Trump added.
Trump sounded a bit tired and admitted that his voice was “a bit choppy” after giving speeches at several boisterous rallies in the final days of the campaign.
And if the election results are close, they likely won’t appear for a few days, especially given the massive increase in voting by mail due to the pandemic. Trump said the result could be known Tuesday night. He added that he would not announce victory prematurely.
Biden turned up Tuesday morning in the important state of Pennsylvania. He said over a loudspeaker in his hometown of Scranton that he had promised to unite Americans and restore respect for the White House.
He stopped at his childhood home, where he signed one of the living room walls and wrote, “From this house to the White House, by the grace of God. Joe Biden 11-3-2020.”
Biden’s limited-scale stop in Scranton stood in stark contrast to Trump’s appearance there on Monday, when he addressed more than 5,000 of his supporters at an outdoor gathering.
Supporters of the candidates seem to agree that the election is a referendum on Trump and his troubled first term. No American president has lost an attempt to win a second term since George HW Bush in 1992.
Monique King, 54, went directly to her voting table in a college basketball hall in Santa Monica, California, at 7 a.m. after completing a 12-hour night shift at a hospital, where she works as a surgical staff.
“I think the approach to dealing with the Corona virus was bad … I think we have a lot of deaths. I can’t take another four years of Trump’s rule … lie after lie after lie, lie after lie,” King said.
And in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, voters lined up in jackets and hats on a cold morning.
Martin Sellar, a 45-year-old welder who had just finished his shift, said of Trump, his favorite: “He doesn’t understand everything he says, but I see that he is trying against everyone who deceives us.
Among the states with the fiercest competition expected to determine the outcome are Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. Democrats hope Biden may even threaten Trump in states known to vote Republican like Ohio, Iowa and Texas.
The pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 231,000 Americans and lost millions of jobs, has pushed Election Day off its normal course as poll workers and voters don masks and people walk away a few of others.
Experts expect total votes to reach 160 million, surpassing 138 million ballots in 2016.
In anticipation of possible protests, authorities closed some buildings and stores in cities such as Washington, Los Angeles and New York. Federal authorities erected a new fence around the White House
A judge with the US Postal Service ordered an inspection of some mail sorting and distribution facilities late Tuesday afternoon to quickly ship late ballots for delivery in major states like Pennsylvania and Florida.
Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating a series of mysterious robotic calls urging people to stay home on Election Day.
Major stock indices surged on Wall Street as investors bet the election could end with a clear victory for Biden and a swift agreement on more fiscal stimulus linked to the pandemic.
Elections are subject to fraud
Trump, 74, is looking to win another four years in office after a tumultuous presidential term dominated by the Corona virus crisis and an economy hit by shutdown due to the epidemic, responsibility for his isolation, investigations into interference Russian elections, ethnic tensions and controversial immigration policies.
As for Biden (77), he is seeking to win the presidency in his third attempt after a political career spanning five decades, including eight years during which he served as Vice President Barack Obama.
Americans will also decide today which of the two major political parties will control Congress for the next two years, in light of pressure from Democrats to restore a majority in the Senate and expectations that they will retain control of the House of Representatives. .
Biden, who placed Trump’s handling of the pandemic at the center of his campaign, vowed to make new efforts to combat the health crisis, reform the economy and heal the political divide in the country, which has also been shaken for months. for protests due to racism and police brutality.
On Tuesday, Trump played down the pandemic again, saying the crisis in the country was “coming to an end” even as many states posted record numbers of new infections in the final days of the campaign.
Results will begin to appear after 7 pm EST (2400 GMT), when polls close in states like Georgia.
Some critical states, such as Florida, are beginning to count the votes cast before Election Day and could announce the results relatively quickly on Tuesday night. Other states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, were also prohibited from counting the vast majority of mail-order ballots until Election Day, increasing the likelihood that the recount will span multiple days.
Trump claimed without evidence that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud. He has also argued that votes should only be counted on Election Day night. He indicated that he could try to use the courts to stop the count.
Trump is expected to spend most of the day at the White House, where an election night party has been planned for about 400 guests, all of whom will be tested for COVID-19.
