Supporters of President Trump in Nevada protest, demanding that every vote in the presidential election be counted. (Reuters, November 5, 2020)
Protesters’ demonstrations broke out in several U.S. cities on Wednesday (Nov. 4).
The Associated Press reports that dozens of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gathered Wednesday at counting centers in Detroit and Phoenix, two key states where the vote count in Michigan and Arizona is highly unfavorable to Trump’s re-election. Meanwhile, thousands of anti-Trump protesters took to the streets of cities across the U.S. to demand a full vote count in the undecided election.
In Detroit, Michigan, dozens of Trump supporters gathered in front of a local counting center, banging on the windows and chanting “Stop the Count!
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, insisted, “Both parties and the public have a right to see the counting process, and we have a robust system of checks and balances to ensure that all votes are counted fairly and accurately.”
Similarly, in Phoenix, Arizona, protesters wearing pro-Trump clothing chanted “No more stolen ballots!” in the parking lot of a Maricopa County counting center.
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, joined the protest crowd, saying, “We will not let the election results be stolen!”
Several police officers blocked the entrance to the counting center building, and observers from both parties did not stop processing and counting the ballots during the protest, which was broadcast live throughout the process. Megan Gilbertson, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Elections Department, said the counting continued late into the night.
Protesters in Portland, Oregon, made several demands during the demonstration, including police brutality and vote counting.
One protester who opposed Trump told the media, “Having doubts about this election will have dire consequences for our democracy.”
The state’s governor, Kate Brown, used the National Guard. Oregon law defines riots and acts of violence involving six or more people as a riot, and considers them a serious risk and “may cause public alarm.
In a statement, Brown said, “It’s important to trust the electoral process and the system that has ensured free and fair elections in this country for decades, even in times of severe crisis.”
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a number of protesters, mostly anti-Trump, gathered outside the municipal building to demand that every vote be counted, holding banners and chanting slogans through microphones.
In addition, thousands of protesters from New York City to Seattle demanded that every vote be counted.
Previously, sporadic protests erupted from Washington, D.C., to Seattle after the polls closed on Election Day, but no widespread unrest or major violence was reported that night.
Meanwhile, President Trump and Republicans filed separate lawsuits over problems with the election. Trump has accused the vote of being fraudulent. This depends on the judicial process required for investigations, evidence, etc., so it is expected that it will take much longer for there to be a mutually agreed upon winner.
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