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Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Before the presidential election, workers board a Walgreens in Washington.
Judging by the plywood, it is shaping up to be an election day in America like no other.
In downtown Washington, the sounds of hammers and power tools echoed through the streets as workers boarded dozens of businesses. In New York City, businesses – from Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square to high-end stores in Manhattan’s posh SoHo neighborhood – had already covered their windows.
Similar scenes played out in Denver and St. Paul, Minnesota, where business owners feared Tuesday’s elections (Wednesday NZT) could lead to the kind of riots that erupted earlier this year.
A few steps from the White House, construction workers carried large sheets of plywood. Block after block, most of the stores had their windows and doors covered. Some kept the front door open in hopes of attracting a small business.
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Chris Pizzello / AP
A man paints a bricked-up window at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in California.
“We have to be prepared,” said Ali Khan 66, who works in a liquor store in central Washington, now entrenched, where thousands of dollars in merchandise were stolen in the June protests. “They broke the windows and came out with everything.”
Washington authorities vowed to keep the peace, and police officials said the entire department would be working on Election Day.
Mark Lennihan / AP
Workers erect a plywood wall to protect a LEGO store in New York’s Rockefeller Center from possible vandalism ahead of the controversial presidential election.
“Some people would like to cause chaos and trouble,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. He also said that he had never seen so many companies bricked up: “That saddens me.”
The activists are preparing for another long-term occupation of Black Lives Matter Plaza, one block from the White House.
In New York City, a police department memo to officers called the vote “one of the most controversial presidential elections in the modern era” and noted that the winner “may not be decided for several weeks.” .
Zbigniew Bzdak / AP
Workers tackle Macy’s on State Street before Election Day in Chicago.
The police have conducted practical exercises to prepare for possible disturbances and have transferred hundreds of officers to patrol duties.
“We want to be very careful not to over-police, because that could send a signal, or sub-police,” said John Miller, the department’s deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism.
Michael Dwyer / AP
Workers cover the windows of a bank in Boston.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking last week on a local radio show, said it was too early to predict what would happen, but that the city would be ready.
“We will be prepared for many protests, protracted protests, potentially different protest groups pitting against each other,” he said. “If something turns violent, we will act to stop it immediately.”
Joshua A. Bickel / AP
Workers raise the windows of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce building in Columbus, Ohio.
