2024-10-30 13:23:00
Key states brace for wave of misinformation and possible unrest on election night
Election officials in the most competitive states are bracing for the predictable avalanche of misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible acts of violence on Election Day next Tuesday. In Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Detroit (Michigan) and Atlanta (Georgia), three of Donald Trump’s favorite targets in his election fraud claims, authorities are trying to strengthen their protocols to avoid a repeat of the chaos experienced in 2020.
Some vote counting offices are surrounded by barbed wire. There are also election offices protected by bulletproof glass. In states like Wisconsin, poll workers were trained in specific techniques and voting centers ensured escape routes in case their workers were threatened by protesters. And in Arizona, one of the epicenters of false fraud allegations four years ago, authorities are working to respond to the misinformation.
With Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a technical tie in the polls, many officials point out there’s something they can’t predict or control: what the GOP and its allies will say on election night, as votes continue to be counted. “If the elections are balanced, they will use everything they can,” summarizes Lisa Deeley, a Democratic commissioner of the city of Philadelphia. (Reuters)
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