Securing democracy: Washington braces for election fallout

- I have never seen anything like this during an election. We have to put up another banner that says we are open. People are confused when they see the completely covered entrance and windows. It’s just precautionary measures, in case dissatisfied Trump voters decide to cause trouble - explains the saleswoman at the "Potbelly" sandwich bar near the White House to surprised customers. The local store - along with other nearby restaurants, cafés, offices, and public buildings - has been tightly covered with special panels.

Washington, on the final day of voting to determine the 47th President of the USA, is partially turning into a fortress. The authorities are preparing the city for any eventuality, to prevent a repeat of the Capitol storming on 6 January 2021, which resulted in the deaths of 5 people and injuries to at least 138 police officers.

The potential for chaos due to prolonged vote counting or the lack of acceptance of the result is taken seriously. Although it was during an assassination attempt that Donald Trump most vividly realised the brutality, he himself, at the end of the race, is playing on polarisation reaching its peak.

The language throughout the campaign has been exceptionally brutal. Donald Trump and his entourage called Kamala Harris a prostitute, a devil, a communist, and spoke of the end of the American dream, a total national collapse. Conversely, former close associates of Donald Trump—and then Kamala Harris—claimed that Donald Trump met the definition of a fascist who threatens the USA. Whilst Trump equated immigrants with murderers, extremely dangerous "lunatics," and degenerates, promising the rebirth of the USA, Harris and her supporters argued that Trump led to the hell of women, and due to restrictions on abortion rights, women were dying and would continue to die. These and many other comments have not gone unheard. For the losers, about half of the voters, the outcome of the election could be "the end of the world."

Donald Trump and some of his supporters are already unjustifiably talking about election fraud. They are demanding an immediate announcement of results, although due to close polls, this seems unlikely. Ultimately, they declare that the elections will only be fair if Donald Trump wins. Considering all this, additional safety measures seem genuinely justified. Especially since unexpected actions could come from either side, as political opponents Kamala Harris and Donald Trump represent everything that is worst.

- After the storming of the Capitol, securing the area doesn’t surprise me at all. But I hope it proves completely unnecessary. We are open on election day and for the following days, so you're welcome – adds the sandwich bar saleswoman, bidding farewell to customers. Nearby, café "Peet’s," which has put up a big banner saying "we are open," the post office, a store with historical White House memorabilia, and McDonald’s have also been secured.

As each hour passes, the list of secured places in the vicinity grows longer. In the McPherson Building, a team measured and cut additional pieces of panels until dusk, covering the building entirely. The sight impresses passersby. People stop to record videos and take pictures.

- Washington is prepared as if for a war or some hurricane - says one passerby, who is loudly considering whether to leave for the city’s outskirts after the vote to stay with friends. - I’ll definitely leave for the inauguration because anything can be expected - he adds.

Securing property for the elections – as joked by one Washington resident – is a "new element of the electoral system" in the USA. The fence being erected around the White House, with panels over two metres high, will allow a giant area to be quickly cut off from bystanders if necessary. It’s not just about the immediate vicinity of the White House, as access was restricted there several days earlier due to the construction of the stage and ongoing preparations for the presidential inauguration in January 2025.

The barriers have been distributed over a much larger area. Not all the panels are connected yet. Access to the famous Lafayette Park, which includes a monument of Tadeusz Kościuszko, was still possible in recent hours. However, this could change at any moment.

– Enjoy walking in the park because if they kick us out of here tonight, we probably won’t be able to return until next year – said an elderly man into a microphone, who came in front of the White House to call for mutual respect. "Stop hating each other because you disagree" is the slogan on a banner he has been carrying around Washington for years.

Fomenting hatred is a topic that has been repeatedly highlighted in the campaign context in American media for weeks. In the "NY Times," Haiyun Jiang emphasises that Americans feel anxiety and fear related to the elections. An annual survey by the American Psychological Association found that for Americans, "the nation’s future" was the most common stress factor. More than seven in ten adults feared that the election results might lead to violence, and 56 per cent stated the elections could be the end of American democracy.

The final hours of the campaign have not contributed to calming the situation, and in the eyes of Democrats and Republicans, but also for many awaiting the election results outside the United States, the 2024 elections are almost a struggle of life and death that will determine where history might go.

The rhetoric of struggle did not leave Donald Trump’s campaign until the final hours. On Monday, the former president suggested at a rally that Harris should be placed "in the ring" with former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. In a social media post, he called for action, "This is our last chance to defeat the corrupt establishment. Go out and vote!".

In the last hours of the campaign, Kamala Harris tried to avoid mentioning Donald Trump and focused on a more positive message, emphasising the importance of the elections. "America, democracy is on the edge. Don’t wait – vote," "Are you ready for one of the most important elections of our lives?" she asked.

On the final day of the election campaign in the USA, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris focused on swing states. The day before the election, Donald Trump visited three states: North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which have a combined total of 50 electoral votes. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris spent Monday in Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes, participating in five election events.

On Monday, American services warned of attempts to influence public opinion, manipulations, and potential violence. The statement highlighted that intelligence noted foreign adversaries, especially Russia, carrying out further influence operations intended to weaken public trust in the integrity of US elections and intensify divisions within the American population.