Panik moves his campaign meeting - the location "uncertain"

The US presidential election
This is how the United States must protect voters from attacks on election day

Julia Wide

Updated 01.18 | Published 00.33

Days left until the election in a polarized USA.

Extensive measures are now being taken to protect voters and election workers from possible violent attacks.

Three methods stand out.

The high level of distrust towards the electoral process in the United States has caused the authorities to prepare for possible acts of violence and other attacks on November 5, reports the Washington Post.

Across the country, security is now being increased at election-related locations to protect Tuesday's vote. Among other things, snipers are deployed on rooftops at polling stations in Arizona, where conspiracies about election fraud are a phenomenon.

The vote counting building in Phoenix is ​​to be protected like a fortress, with flying drones looking for potential threats.

Social media must also be monitored to prevent the spread of threats and misinformation that could harm voters.

The state's top electoral official, Adrian Fontes, has said he will wear bulletproof vests to protect himself against possible attacks.

 

Snipers have been deployed on the roofs of the polling stations. Here is a picture from another occasion. 

 

Photo: Matt Slocum/AP

Bulletproof glass and panic buttons

The modernization is also large in other states. Hundreds of polling stations have been equipped with bulletproof glass, steel doors and surveillance equipment. In some counties, poll workers have been given panic buttons at their desks.

At least two states, Nevada and Washington, have activated the National Guard between November 4 and 7. Washington Governor Jay Inslee made the decision after several early voting ballot boxes were set on fire, destroying hundreds of ballots.

Even the presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are surrounded by a massive security effort during the final sprint of the election campaign. Among other things, Trump has spoken behind a bulletproof screen during his campaign meetings after he was the victim of an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania earlier in July.
In the same state, Kamala Harris has been forced to move Monday's campaign rally to another part of Pittsburgh after the Secret Service deemed the location "unsafe," writes The Telegraph.

Allegations of cheating

Much of the preparation is also about the period after the election when counting will continue in some states, most notably in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Arizona stood out in Trump's attempt to stop vote counting last election. Hundreds of Trump supporters then came to protest outside the premises where the votes were still being counted.

The predicted very close race combined with the battleground of disinformation expected on social media could create unrest and attempts at sabotage, political analysts say.

According to David Becker, CEO of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a large portion of Trump supporters now have only victory in mind.

- If Trump loses or is headed for a loss, you can imagine the shock of his supporters, as well as how it will be used by instigators to try to incite them to violence, says David Becker.

Here, mail-in votes that came into Maricopa County in Arizona are counted. Photo: Matt York/AP

Trump has still not conceded defeat in the 2020 election and claims the presidency went to Biden because of election fraud.

His false accusations are believed to be the biggest reason why there is so much distrust of the democratic process in the United States.