{"id":4304,"date":"2020-10-21T12:23:24","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T12:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=4304"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:16","slug":"aware-of-potential-disruptions-at-polling-places-durham-officials-quietly-made-plans-to-keep-the-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/10\/21\/aware-of-potential-disruptions-at-polling-places-durham-officials-quietly-made-plans-to-keep-the-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Aware of potential disruptions at polling places, Durham officials quietly made plans to keep the peace"},"content":{"rendered":"
Thousands of Durham residents flooded voting sites starting last week in a tense election countdown that has state and local officials quietly preparing for disruptions. Among the precautions: positioning unarmed security at polling places.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The first few days of early voting in the county found eager Durhamites waiting in lines by the hundreds, sometimes as long as three hours, masked and socially distant.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cI really think the election in Durham is going to go well,\u201d said Mayor Steve Schewel. \u201cI want to encourage everybody to understand that early in-person voting is safe. It’s safer than going to the supermarket.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
But it isn\u2019t just COVID-19 that has brought worry about voting in person. Around the country, concerns about what may happen at the polls \u2014 at early-vote sites and on Election Day \u2014 have arisen because of comments from President Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n