In U.S. swing states, officials brace for conspiracy theories and violence

(Reuters)

DETROIT, Oct 30 – With the U.S. election just days away, officials in the most competitive battleground states are bracing for misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible violence.

In Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta, three of former President Donald Trump’s favorite targets for false claims of voter fraud, officials have fortified their operations against a repeat of the chaos of 2020. Philadelphia’s ballot-counting warehouse is now surrounded by fencing topped with barbed wire. In Detroit and Atlanta, some election offices are protected by bullet-proof glass.

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In Wisconsin, election workers have been trained on de-escalation techniques and polling stations rearranged so workers have escape routes if they are menaced by protestors.

In Arizona, an epicenter in 2020 for false claims by Republicans about rigged voting, the secretary of state is working with local officials on how to respond to misinformation, including deep-fake images of purported fraud.

As opinion polls show Republican Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris neck and neck, opens new tab heading into Tuesday’s vote, officials say there’s one thing they can’t predict or control: What Trump and his allies might say on election night as the votes are still being counted.

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“If it’s razor thin, then they’re going to throw everything they got, right?” said Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley, a Democrat, in an interview. “There’s nothing we can do to stop the former president from continuing his campaign of misinformation and disinformation. But what we can do is continue to push back on that with facts.”

Deeley and 30 other election officials from both parties told Reuters they are preparing for a replay of 2020, when Trump and his lawyers pushed false charges about late-night ballot dumps and rigged machines in an effort to overturn his loss. In the wake of those claims, clerks around the country have been subjected to threats and harassment, opens new tab from Trump supporters convinced the election was stolen.