US Presidential Election D-1... Growing Concerns Over Violence Spread and Result Rejection

U.S. President Donald Trump is campaigning in Washington, Michigan, two days before the presidential election on the 1st (local time). President Trump embarked on a vigorous campaign tour covering five battleground states, including Michigan and Florida. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] With the US presidential election just one day away, concerns are growing about the possibility of violent unrest arising from refusal to accept the election results.

According to local US media on the 2nd, recent gun sales have surged, and conversations about 'civil war' have sharply increased on online forums where right-wing extremists gather.

Polling agency YouGov released a survey earlier this month showing that about 56% of US voters expect an increase in violent incidents after the election.

In Texas on the 30th of last month, supporters of President Donald Trump armed with firearms surrounded and threatened a Democratic campaign bus. As a result, the Democrats canceled a campaign event originally scheduled near Austin.

In downtown areas of major cities such as Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, some stores are boarding up their windows with plywood. This is in preparation for potential looting by protesters refusing to accept the election results.

This election may face delays in vote counting compared to previous elections due to a surge in mail-in ballots caused by COVID-19.

President Donald Trump is reported to have already prepared a refusal scenario ahead of the election and communicated it to his close aides, sparking controversy.

According to a report by local internet political media Axios, President Trump told his aides that if he shows even a slight lead in the vote count on election night, he plans to declare victory immediately. Axios reported that Trump intends to incite public opinion and declare refusal by claiming mail-in ballots are fraudulent, even if Biden later catches up and overturns the results.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.