US elections 2024: Panic buttons, bulletproof glass, security cameras and more — Swing states brace for violence

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris remain neck-and-neck in polls as Americans set off for voting booths on November 5. The contest is likely to come down to the wire with a mere fraction of Americans residing in swing states deciding the final outcome. Officials in these competitive ‘battleground’ states are currently braced for misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible violence in the aftermath of a turbulent campaign season.

Recent months have seen an increasingly polarised election campaign against the backdrop of simultaneous conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, hacking by foreign governments and more. The 2024 US elections are also taking place amid an increasingly normalised blizzard of misinformation — with Donald Trump and his supporters consistently perpetuating theories about voter fraud and ‘unfair’ election practices.

Polls indicate that America is currently split almost evenly between Harris and Trump supporters — with people on both sides expressing acute concern about the next couple of days. 

Local officials have adopted a barrage of security measures ahead of Election Day — including the installation of panic buttons for poll workers. panic buttons for election workers, and utilising Surveillance drones are being used to monitor the areas and rooftop snipers have been deployed at key vote-counting centres.

According to a recent Reuters report, some county election offices in North Carolina have installed panic buttons, bulletproof glass, security cameras and heavier doors to counter potential threats. Election officials have also been trained to defuse tensions with angry activists while the police were given pocket guides on election law in anticipation of increased challenges.

A ballot-counting warehouse in Philadelphia has been surrounded by fencing topped with barbed wire while some election offices in Detroit and Atlanta were now protected by bulletproof glass. Other areas have adopted new measures to hasten the counting and make the process as transparent and foolproof as possible.

In Detroit for example, officials are preparing for potential unrest in planning with local police and federal officials. The city has strengthened its election headquarters with armed guards and bullet-proof glass, and the counting of mail-in ballots has been moved to a more secure location in the convention hall downtown. Trump supporters had sought to disrupt the process by pounding on windows and yelling “stop the count” in 2020.

In a virtual meeting for prospective poll workers, an official with the Republican National Committee warned the volunteers that Detroit was not to be trusted. "Because that city, if I could get away with ... you know, burning it to the ground, I would try," said Morgan Ray, the RNC's director of election integrity for Michigan, according to a previously unreported recording of the Sept. 10 meeting obtained by Reuters.

Election officials say one of their biggest fears is a razor-close result where the outcome will hinge on court fights over small numbers of disputed ballots.

Earlier on Friday Trump had taken to Truth Social to insist that there was "rampant Cheating and Skulduggery" in 2020 and threatened election officials and others “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this cycle with prosecution.

(With inputs from agencies)