Polls closed in most of the United States with delays that dragged on through the night and uncertainty over the president until the very end. But, in the midst of the vote, there is certain news: tens of millions of American voters went to the polls to choose the next leader of the country in an orderly manner, without accidents or shootings or events disturbing security.
The voting process, according to police and government agency officials cited by the CNN“went off without a hitch, although problems caused by non-credible bomb threats from Russia interrupted the vote in several states.” Several bomb threats were reported at some polling stations in Michigan and Georgia, and security checks and cleanups caused delays in voting in several counties, with security officials clearing out polls and then resuming. once it was established that these were unfounded rumours.
Even in Wisconsin the police intervened due to threats apparently aimed at disrupting the vote, and the same happened in Arizona and Pennsylvania, where a bomb threat caused the temporary evacuation of a building in West Chester. All sources state that these threats appeared to “come from Russian email domains, but “none have so far been deemed credible,” the FBI said.
Aware of the possible unrest and concerns of the entire nation about a possible urban guerrilla scenario – especially due to Donald Trump’s incendiary statements on mass electoral fraud which reminded many of the days of the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021 – the government and individual states have adequately prepared for every eventuality, and supervised it several times.
Also because, on the eve of the November 5 elections, some polls for the first time in recent American history recorded a tendency towards the justification of political violence. According to the University of Chicago, it would be justifiable for 14% of Americans if it serves “to achieve the political goals I support”, while 4.4% (about 11 million adults) agree that “the use of force is justified to restore Donald Trump to the presidency.” It was precisely these data that convinced the governor of Washington State to alert the National Guard. Which other states have also done.
On Tuesday, before the polls closed, Trump had put his own spin on social media when he posted unfounded claims about alleged fraud in Philadelphia, a city with a Democratic majority, which then forced the city’s district attorney, Larry Krasner, to declare that “there is no factual basis within law enforcement to support these wild allegations.”
Aside from that, no unusual police sirens, no clashes, demonstrations or violence of any kind. America, for now, has passed the test. Other police and federal agency reports cited by the CNN they only report that some areas of the United States “were affected by extreme weather phenomena that caused temporary disruptions to infrastructure”, but confirm that there were no “significant incidents at a national level that impacted the security of the election”. In short, the problems encountered were “largely expected, routine and planned events”.
Several states recorded very high, if not record, voter turnout. Like Michigan and Georgia. Almost everywhere, overall voter turnout exceeded expectations.
Therefore, the state machine worked. Perhaps the event was over-dramatized. This is also understandable, considering that US elections in general are a gigantic undertaking: «In 2020, more than 161 million voters cast ballots and were counted in 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and five US territories, for a total of 132,556 polling stations and with the help of 775,101 election workers, according to the United States Election Assistance Commission” reports the CNN. The civil war, at least for now, has fortunately been postponed.
