From Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, police and store owners said they're preparing for Election Day unrest despite authorities coast to coast saying they've received no credible threats.
An election official wears a protective face shield at a polling location in Houston, Nov. 03, 2020.
Aaron M. Sprecher/EPA-EFE via Shutterstock
As voters, most wearing face masks and braving the anxiety associated with a global pandemic, flocked to the polls on Election Day, some cities were bracing for the type of violence and looting that occurred earlier this year during protests that followed police-involved killings of Black Americans.
Beverly Hills has even called in a SWAT team from another community to be at the ready, officials said.
Voters check in with election officials before receiving their ballots at Ballard High School on Nov. 3, 2020 in Louisville, Ky.
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Stores along Rodeo Drive were seen with boarded up windows in the waning hours of the presidential election, with the mayor saying the street would be closed to vehicular traffic as an extra precaution.
In New York City, the sound of buzzsaws and hammers drowned out honking cars and sirens as work crews with truckloads of plywood swooped in. Along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, near Trump Tower, workers spent Monday night boarding up the windows of some of the nation's most expensive stores, including Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avene and nearly every shop in Rockefeller Center.
A poll challenger wearing a full face mask is removed by Detroit Police for causing a disturbance during absentee ballot processing at the TCF Center in Detroit, Nov. 2, 2020.
Rebecca Cook/Reuters
Similar scenes were found in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia and St. Paul, Minnesota.
During his daily press briefing, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday, "We do not have specific or credible threats."
De Blasio said that while no major protests were scheduled for Tuesday night, he cautioned that the New York Police Department will be out in full force to facilitate peaceful protests and potentially thwart the types of looters and violent agitators seen in May and June after the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
"We will not allow any violence," said de Blasio, adding that protesters should move away from any criminal activity and report it immediately. "The city's ready -- the NYPD is ready."
NYPD officers were deployed on Tuesday to all 1,200 polling sites in New York City and officers will be out on the streets Tuesday night. Commissioner Dermot Shea called businesses boarding up "100% precautionary," adding, "It's hard to fault them with what we went through and what they see across the country."
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Monday that he was activating the state's National Guard to address potential unrest after Election Day. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown also put the National Guard on alert after declaring a state of emergency in the Portland area, which has been rocked by almost daily protests.
Workers in the Soho area of New York prepare their businesses by boarding up on Nov. 2, 2020, as they make plans for potential civil unrest during the presidential race for the White House.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump tweeted Monday night that a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania to be counted up to three days after the election was "VERY dangerous" and that it "will allow rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine our entire systems of laws. It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!"
Twitter immediately censored Trump's tweet. The social media platform clarified in a note to users "some or all of the content shared in this tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process."
Temporary non-scalable fencing was installed around the White House perimeter on Monday in advance of potential protests. By Tuesday morning, the fence was plastered mostly with anti-Trump signs.
Helicopter passes over the White House, seen behind a fence and protest posters, the day before the presidential election in Washington, Nov. 2, 2020.
Erin Scott/Reuters
Additional fencing already has been erected around Lafayette Square, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, the location of protests over racial equality in June.
United States National Guard members walk towards the White House from the Washington Monument on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Washington.
John Minchillo/AP
Arizona
People wait in line to vote in the early morning in front of the American Legion in Tombstone, Ariz., Nov. 3, 2020.
Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty Images
Musicians perform at the Burton Barr Library polling station as voters arrive to cast their ballots in Phoenix, Nov. 3, 2020.
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Pennsylvania
A voter waits in line at the Guerin Recreation Center polling station on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Tracie Van Auken/EPA-EFE via Shutterstock
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden visits Hanks Hoagies in Scranton, Pa, Nov. 3, 2020.
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Kentucky
An election official stands near the ballot boxes at Ballard High School on Nov. 3, 2020 in Louisville, Ky.
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North Carolina
Poll manager Susan Taylor wears shoes with the word "Vote" as she checks people in to vote at the Hazel Parker Playground on Election Day in Charleston, N.C., Nov. 3, 2020.
Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
People line up to vote at the Hazel Parker Playground on Election Day in Charleston, N.C., Nov. 3, 2020.
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A volunteer with "Democracy North Carolina" is available to answer questions at Waddell Language Academy shortly after the polls opened in Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 3, 2020.
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Connecticut
A young boy waits for his father to cast his ballot at Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Conn. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
Voters mark their ballots at First Presbyterian Church on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Stamford, Conn.
Jessica Hill/AP
Texas
A woman casts her ballot in the 2020 general election inside the Basset Place Mall in El Paso, Texas on Nov. 3, 2020.
Justin Hamel/AFP via Getty Images
Supporters of President Trump cheer as passing cars honk their horns near a polling location on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Houston.
David J. Phillip/AP
Puerto Rico
Officials count early votes at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum during general elections in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 3, 2020. In addition to electing a governor, Puerto Ricans are voting in a nonbinding referendum on statehood.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Wisconsin
Poll workers check voters identifications at The Orpheum Theater on Nov. 3, 2020 in Madison, Wis.
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Florida
People line up to vote outside of the John F. Kennedy Library during the general election, Nov. 3, 2020, in Hialeah, Fla.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Voters cast their ballots at City of Hialeah Fire Station No. 2 in Miami, Nov. 3, 2020.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images
Virginia
Voters wait outside the Lee Hill polling location on Election Day in Spotsylvania, Va., Nov. 3, 2020.
Mike Morones/AP
President Donald Trump greets staff members as he visits his presidential campaign headquarters on Election Day in nearby Arlington, Va., Nov. 3, 2020.
Tom Brenner/Reuters
Oklahoma
Voters wait in a long line to cast their ballots at the Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City, Nov. 3, 2020.
Nick Oxford/Reuters
California
Poll workers wave flags to bring a voter to their location booth at the Registrar of Voters on Election Day in San Diego, Nov. 3, 2020.
Mike Blake/Reuters
Alabama
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2020 election, Nov. 3, 2020, in Auburn, Ala.
Julie Bennett/AP
Michigan
Election inspector Ron Takala processes ballots as the counting of absentee votes begins on Election Day at City Hall in Warren, Mich., Nov. 3, 2020.
David Goldman/AP
Ohio
Aaron Coffy holds his 10 month old daughter Emma as he sits at the voting table to cast his ballot at the polling place at the Ashland County Fairgrounds Mozelle Hall in Ashland, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2020.
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