Americans brace for possible unrest as election day nears
The United States is preparing for the presidential elections scheduled for 5th November. The contest outcome between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remains unknown. Regardless of the results, one in four Americans fears that riots may erupt in the country after they are announced.
24 October 2024 15:24
The survey of pre-election social sentiments in the USA was published by the British newspaper "The Times." The conclusions from the survey, conducted by the international company YouGov on behalf of the newspaper, indicate that one-quarter of United States residents fear that after 5th November, the country will experience a wave of unrest.
Interviewers reached adult Americans online. Respondents expressed their electoral preferences.
Survey conducted in the USA: One in four Americans fears riots after the elections
It turns out that 30 percent of women and 24 percent of men participating in the survey believe that there may be an outbreak of violence after the presidential elections. Similarly, a comparable number of supporters of candidates from the two main parties - 28 percent supporting Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party and 27 percent backing Donald Trump of the Republican Party consider riots possible to some extent.
Additionally, 12 percent of respondents stated that they know people in their surroundings who might take up arms and protest in the streets if they believe Trump was deprived of victory through electoral fraud. Only 5 percent of respondents know someone who would be willing to take similar actions if the fraud involved Harris.
The question about firearm possession revealed that as many as 32 percent of Trump supporters and only 13 percent of Harris supporters own guns. A previous survey conducted by the Pew Research Center indicated that guns are present in 40 percent of American households.
Moreover, 84 percent of voters believe that American society is more politically divided today than a decade ago. Only 5 percent think that this division has decreased.
The discussion about potential riots in the context of the current political tension in the USA is linked to the actions of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on 6th January 2021. Those involved in this attempt to capture the most important building for American democracy wanted to delay the official confirmation of Joe Biden's election victory.
