Panic buttons and SWAT teams: U.S. braces for election unrest

U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump | AFP-JIJI

by MICHAEL MATHES
November 5, 2024

WASHINGTON – Panic buttons for poll workers, special weapons teams deployed on rooftops, and hundreds of National Guard personnel on standby.

The 2024 U.S. presidential campaign has been a particularly volatile one, and security for Election Day on Tuesday is being ramped up to unprecedented levels given concerns over possible civil unrest, election chicanery, or violence against election workers.

The states of Oregon, Washington and Nevada have activated the National Guard — and the Pentagon says at least 17 states have placed a total of 600 National Guard troops on standby if needed.