© 2024 WGLT
A public service of Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

What In-Person Voting Looks Like From The Ground

Voters wait in line to vote at a polling place at the Dr. Wesley Grant Senior Center  in Asheville, North Carolina.
Voters wait in line to vote at a polling place at the Dr. Wesley Grant Senior Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

More than 27 million Americans have already voted in the election, according to the U.S. Elections Project, a turnout-tracking database run by University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald. Some voted in person in early voting states. But despite voters turning out in record numbers, elections officials are still preparing for a rocky month come November.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly instructed his supporters to go to the polls not to just vote, but to watch for potential instances of voter fraud, which he has falsely claimed will be widespread. Now, authorities are preparing for scenarios in which voters waiting in line are harassed by “poll watchers” or threatened with firearms.

In some cases, local officials are working with the FBI to run through potential drills meant to prepare them for worst-case scenarios.

What is election day shaping up to look like? And how are elections officials preparing for what could be a very difficult period?

This show was produced as part of 1A’s Across America partnership with Michigan Radio. 1A Across America is funded through a grant from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 that is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting.

Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.

Amanda Williams