Police brace for potential Election Day unrest in a year when ‘everything is uncertain’
< < Go Back
As campaign season heads into its fraught, final days, police departments across the country are bracing for Election Day, mobilizing officers as they prepare for the possibility of voter intimidation, unrest or violence.
These preparations include extensive planning exercises, efforts to monitor early-voting sites and concerns about how long any unrest could last if the election results are not immediately known or challenged in court.
While law enforcement agencies routinely plan for elections, officials say this year’s preparations are unusually extensive because of the sheer levels of anxiety and toxicity across the country — with fears that a modern American election could give way to potential violence.
“I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this in modern times,” said Andrew Walsh, a deputy chief with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
More From The Washington Post (subscription required):
Rss Feed