U.S. Businesses Boarding Up Stores Ahead Of Election

[RAMROD 117,004]

Concerned about the possibility of unrest on Election Day, or in the days that follow, businesses in some areas of D.C. are boarding their windows. Officials are advising shop owners to sign up for crime alerts and to keep their insurance information handy.

D.C. police have limited leave for officers starting this weekend to ensure adequate staffing, and the District spent $100,000 on less-lethal munitions and chemical irritants for riot control to replenish a stockpile depleted by clashes over the summer.

As a turbulent election season draws to a close, authorities across the country worry frustration may spill onto the streets, and officials are watching for disturbances at the polls or protests in their communities. That tension is heightened in the nation’s capital, where the White House and other symbols of government regularly draw demonstrators.

 

In Chicago, several businesses along the Michigan Avenue shopping district have boarded up their windows in preparation for Election Day, Adam Skaf, a spokesperson for the Magnificent Mile Association, told NBC News. The group also partnered with the city to participate in an auxiliary command center on Election Day, when it will share real-time information to businesses.

 

For the retail industry, 2020 has been filled with bankruptcies, store closures and plummeting sales as tens of millions of Americans struggled with job losses because of the pandemic. Protests over police violence against Black citizens sent millions of people into the streets, demonstrations that in some cases devolved into the looting and burning of stores in a number of cities. Worries about unrest around the election have been fanned by President Trump, who has declined to say whether he would agree to a peaceful transfer of power if his Democratic challenger, Joseph R. Biden Jr., is victorious.

“I am 50-plus years old, and I didn’t think I would live to see this,” said Shane Fernett, who owns a contracting business in Colorado Springs and has been stocking up on plywood to board up his retail customers. “You read about this in third-world countries, not America.”

 

Full articles:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/dc-election-day-unrest-preparation/2020/10/30/8f474d76-1798-11eb-82db-60b15c874105_story.html?outputType=amp

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/business/retailers-election-protests.html

 

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/11/01/denver-downtown-businesses-windows-election-day/amp/

 

I hope all of you stay safe out there, U.S. Monsters! If you plan to go to booth for voting, DO IT NOW! There could be lots of threats and pressures going on the booth by opposite group on Nov 3rd to vote on their candidate.

[Gagz4Gaga 7,278]

And the US has the audacity to claim itself as the bastion of democracy.. 

[gumzy3000 7,898]

Things might get very bad for the US. It feels weird living in Canada because we are so different 

[LateToCult 41,830]

Eh, what the hell. I think I’ll get myself a nice pair of shoes this time.

Spoiler

Jk of course. Stay safe everyone!

 

[JGD 12,098]

I was in Seattle last week and much of the businesses downtown were boarded up!

[Alannah 2,988]

I'm so glad I moved to the Chicago burbs this year. I'm thankful to have a job that has us working remote until June 2021. One of the last few nights in our apartment, the protestors had passed and the rioters started breaking into the businesses up the street from us. Someone tried breaking in the front door of our 3 floor walk-up building and I didn't sleep for days. (Already robbed twice and then car jacked at gunpoint once, the next instance is statistically going to be something that needs stitches, no thank you.) 

Already sick to my stomach about Tuesday. The last election, I was an admin for a property manager and the older residents who were Trump supporters scared the living dooty out of me. I ended up taking the next day off and plan on doing the same if he gets re-elected. Hell, I might even take the rest of the week.

[Rat Boy 43,832]

Stay safe USA.

[LateToCult 41,830]

2 minutes ago, JGD said:

I was in Seattle last week and much of the businesses downtown were boarded up!

Seattle went to hell last time because the Kyles wanted to play anarchists. I really don’t want to deal with that again.

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

I'm staying inside and I can imagine there will be mass rioting in LA 

[PsychoMaxcara 814]

Very very scared and uncertain what the future holds for us

[LaLuna 12,732]

Praying everyone stays safe.

But at the same time, it feels like the natural culmination of the past 4 years. We all knew this election would not go smoothly. Something needs to change, people will not take another 4 years of this.

[Ronnie 6,099]

Phoenix has done the same.

Stay safe out there!

[Ivy 13,718]

I'm so anxious over this, along with the pandemic. Praying everyone stays safe 

[Lion Heart 15,041]

Stay safe guys. Make sure you buy the things you need (food, water, medicines, etc.) ASAP because I am not sure what Tuesday night will bring. If you have not done so, PLEASE vote if you are in a swing state: NC, AZ, IA, MI, MN, WI, and especially PA. It will be close- don't listen to NONE of these folks giving Biden 310+. It just wont happen.