odanny
Diamond Member
I hope the protests by Trump supporters are not more violent than they were when Trump first lost, and let's hope and pray that our police officers remain safe when dealing with rightwing extremists if Trump can instigate his supporters into more violence.
It’s Election Day again and America is on edge, not only about the vote but about what might follow.
For four years, Donald Trump and his allies have prepared to challenge the outcome if he loses again. They have spent months filing lawsuits, laying the groundwork to contest ballots, results and the eligibility of voters. They have recruited thousands of volunteers to monitor polling places, drop boxes and counting facilities.
And, without evidence, they have claimed that the cheating has already begun — priming their staunchest supporters for confrontation, intimidation and, in the worst case, violence.
State and federal authorities have been preparing, too. After Trump’s clumsy, chaotic and ultimately failed effort to overturn his loss in 2020, election officials, members of Congress and law enforcement agencies gamed out how someone might try again. They have changed laws to make it harder to challenge certified results, strengthened security at election facilities and launched massive message campaigns to encourage public trust in U.S. elections.
Now, the country is poised to find out if the guardrails are necessary — and whether they hold. Officials are less concerned about the kind of mass protests that Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement spawned in 2020, notably the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. But they are worried, they say, about localized incidents spinning out of control.
“There is the potential for small flare-ups throughout our state and other states — little fires everywhere,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who was the subject of threats and harassment in the aftermath of the 2020 vote and pushed for new laws that make it more difficult to overturn a legitimate outcome. “Collectively they could become a massive firestorm that is more difficult to contain because the embers have been burning throughout the nation.”
It’s Election Day again and America is on edge, not only about the vote but about what might follow.
For four years, Donald Trump and his allies have prepared to challenge the outcome if he loses again. They have spent months filing lawsuits, laying the groundwork to contest ballots, results and the eligibility of voters. They have recruited thousands of volunteers to monitor polling places, drop boxes and counting facilities.
And, without evidence, they have claimed that the cheating has already begun — priming their staunchest supporters for confrontation, intimidation and, in the worst case, violence.
State and federal authorities have been preparing, too. After Trump’s clumsy, chaotic and ultimately failed effort to overturn his loss in 2020, election officials, members of Congress and law enforcement agencies gamed out how someone might try again. They have changed laws to make it harder to challenge certified results, strengthened security at election facilities and launched massive message campaigns to encourage public trust in U.S. elections.
Now, the country is poised to find out if the guardrails are necessary — and whether they hold. Officials are less concerned about the kind of mass protests that Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement spawned in 2020, notably the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. But they are worried, they say, about localized incidents spinning out of control.
“There is the potential for small flare-ups throughout our state and other states — little fires everywhere,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who was the subject of threats and harassment in the aftermath of the 2020 vote and pushed for new laws that make it more difficult to overturn a legitimate outcome. “Collectively they could become a massive firestorm that is more difficult to contain because the embers have been burning throughout the nation.”
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www.washingtonpost.com
