Elections in the United States: Washington votes between …

From Washington, DC. If it weren’t for 2020, the District of Columbia would already have plans ready to track the outcome of the election campaign as if it were the final of a World Cup. But In year dominated by COVID-19 pandemic and massive protests, U.S. capital lives on election day between hope and fear. The messages of encouragement to vote coexist with the strong security operation prepared around the White House in the face of the possibility of unrest.

The city of Washington is a democratic stronghold. This is, modeled on the FiveThirtyEight site, the place where a Republican victory was least likely. Donald trump in all the countries. In town, after the announcement that Joseph biden would be the opposition candidate, signs of support began to appear: T-shirts, stickers on cars. The capital arrived on Election Day with 2020 Biden posters on the doors, windows and balconies of homes. Due to the pandemic, some supporters also wore chinstrap with the Democratic formula.

Sightings from Trump supporters are rare, but they are. Sometimes they come to the outskirts of the White House in their red caps with the tycoon campaign slogan, Make America Great Again (to make America great again). In recent weeks, especially on election day, they have also visited Black Lives Matter plaza. This sometimes generated tensions between Trump fans and those rallying at this site to demand racial justice.

Given the possibility of these tensions turning into clashes and unrest, the White House area has woken up more enclosed than in recent days. The security arrangement for Tuesday consisted of increasing the perimeter of the fence which had already been there since the massive protests last June.

Buildings in neighboring areas have bricked their entrances. The same is true for some food places that at one point knew to be full at lunchtime and now, with people working from home, they are usually empty.

In any other election cycle, bars would prepare as they do on Superbowl Sunday. They would have specials and entice people to follow the results on TV. But the pandemic that shook the world has also had an impact on the city’s food industry.

Currently, restaurants and bars in the area can accommodate people inside up to half their capacity, but they remain empty. Most people still look askance at the possibility of dining inside a place. Despite this, some establishments held events to track the results and created drink specials hinting at the parties and leading figures in the election.

Washington took advantage of the wee hours of the morning to vote at noon and after the end of the working day. Despite being seen as a safe place for Democrats, the elections have generated as much interest as in more contested places. At the Kennedy Recreation Center, one of the city’s voting sites, a woman came to vote directly after obtaining her citizenship. In the United States there is no automatic registry and people have to register. Most do it in advance, but there are places like Washington that allow registration on election day. The lady went to her ceremony to receive citizenship and then register to vote. A woman who last voted 50 years ago also registered at the center. For the table authorities, it is a sign of interest in the election.

In the year of the protests, the main activities organized for election night were small protests. In one of the squares near the White House, a giant screen was set up to follow the results and a truck with music approached to liven up a tense night. A few meters away, the police operation blocked the streets and remained alert. At night, when tables still had to be closed, the lights illuminating McPherson Square in downtown Washington were those on the CNN screen and those on police mobiles in the corners.