Fears of renewed controversy after US election

Former US President Donald Trump's repeated claims of election fraud are raising concerns about the possibility of a repeat of the controversial, even violent, developments of four years ago.

Mr. Trump denounced fraud

Since US states began allowing voters to vote early, Mr. Trump and his allies have stepped up their rhetoric suggesting he is on track to win clearly if there is no fraud, according to Bloomberg.

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"We're ahead in all the polls," Trump declared at a rally earlier this week in Atlanta. In fact, most polls show the two candidates are nearly tied, with some suggesting Trump is only slightly ahead. While there have been instances of voter fraud, they are extremely rare and do not tip the balance, according to the news agency.

A fenced-off ballot storage area at a vote counting center in Philadelphia

The statements are setting the stage for litigation if the election doesn’t go the way the Republican candidate wants. Trump’s repeated refusal to say he will accept the election results is a sign of that scenario, as he did in 2020, when the candidate made unsubstantiated claims that his loss to Joe Biden was due to fraud.

Over the past week, Mr. Trump has told his supporters that he will only lose if there is election fraud. In a statement on October 30, he claimed to have discovered “massive fraud” in Pennsylvania and called for an investigation. In fact, state election officials have found and investigated a number of suspicious registrations, but there is no evidence that such registrations have led to or will lead to illegal voting.

Reuters quoted Kyle Miller, a policy strategist at the nonprofit Policy Defense (USA), as saying that Mr. Trump's actions are sowing the seeds for an effort to overturn the election results if the results go against the Republican candidate. "We saw that in 2020 and I think the lesson that Mr. Trump and his allies have learned is that they have to plant those ideas early," Mr. Miller said. In 2020, Mr. Trump's team filed 60 lawsuits accusing fraud in many states, but all were unsuccessful.

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Prepare to respond

As Election Day approaches, officials in the most fiercely contested battleground states are preparing for misinformation, conspiracy theories and the possibility of violence. In major cities like Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta, officials are stepping up measures to prepare for a repeat of the chaos of 2020. In Philadelphia, facilities used to count ballots have been surrounded by barricades and barbed wire. In Detroit and Atlanta, some election offices are even equipped with bulletproof glass, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, election workers in Wisconsin are being trained in de-escalation techniques and polling stations are being repositioned to allow workers to escape if surrounded by protesters. In Arizona, the epicenter of false claims of voter fraud in 2020, state election officials are working with local officials on how to respond to misinformation.

"There's nothing we can do to stop the former president from continuing his disinformation campaign, but we can continue to push back with the facts," Philadelphia Elections Commissioner Lisa Deeley said.

US election affects world growth

Global economic growth will remain robust next year as major central banks cut interest rates, according to a Reuters survey of about 500 world economists released yesterday. Accordingly, global growth is expected to average 3.1% this year while next year it will be 3%. However, the possibility of former US President Donald Trump's re-election and implementation of a comprehensive import tax plan is forecast to hinder the growth picture.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/noi-lo-tranh-cai-lap-lai-sau-bau-cu-my-185241101212720185.htm