As the days tick down to the November 5th presidential election, a palpable sense of unease hangs over the state of Arizona. Residents, particularly those in the fiercely contested Maricopa County, find themselves grappling with the unsettling prospect of political violence erupting in the wake of the high-stakes vote.
A State on Edge
Arizona, a traditionally conservative stronghold that surprisingly flipped blue for Joe Biden in 2020, now finds itself at the epicenter of the nation’s political divide. With President Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris holding a slim lead over former President Donald Trump in recent polls, tensions are running high among the electorate.
“People are scared,” confessed Pearl Hubbard, a Harris supporter from Phoenix who recently picked up some campaign yard signs at a rally but remains hesitant to display them outside her home. “I think people are scared to put them up,” she added, noting the scarcity of visible Harris support in her neighborhood.
The Shadow of 2020
The specter of the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 election looms large in the minds of many Arizonans. In the wake of Trump’s narrow defeat in the state, his supporters took to the streets of Phoenix, staging tense confrontations with local officials while clinging to baseless claims of voter fraud.
Now, with Trump continuing to suggest that he may once again cry foul if he loses, election officials in Maricopa County are leaving nothing to chance. They plan to have a SWAT team and mounted sheriff’s deputies at the ready near the ballot tabulation building, prepared for any potential unrest.
I would say that I definitely worry about that since he hasn’t conceded the last election.
– Bethany Hagen, Phoenix resident
Whispers of Worry
While few are predicting outright violence, there’s a pervasive sense of unease that permeates conversations across the state. “It is hard to talk to people here,” lamented Bethany Hagen, a 34-year-old Colorado transplant struggling to navigate Arizona’s charged political landscape.
Stacey Stocks, a 53-year-old resident of the conservative Phoenix suburb of Surprise, admitted to feeling nervous about canvassing for Harris in her neighborhood. Though she ultimately encountered no trouble, the trepidation lingers.
Hopes for a Decisive Outcome
For many, the best hope for staving off any potential unrest lies in a definitive Harris victory. “I really hope that most people were appalled by what happened on January 6 and really motivated them, maybe this time around, to get out and actually vote,” Stocks mused. “I’m hoping that this will be a landslide.”
Others, like Democratic party committee member Ruth Murphy, are banking on the hard lessons learned from the 2020 debacle. “I know it can happen, but I think with the experiences that we’ve had in the past, we will be more ready for it, if it happens,” she stated, having begun the practice of bringing her political yard signs indoors each evening to deter theft.
A Nation Watches
As Arizonans brace for the unknown, the eyes of the nation are fixed squarely upon the Grand Canyon State. With the presidency potentially hanging in the balance, the fervent hope is that the voice of the people will be heard loud and clear, without being drowned out by the specter of violence and discord.
In the end, it falls to the citizens of Arizona to rise above the rancor, to cast their ballots in peace, and to stand as a beacon of democratic resilience in an all-too-fractious age. The world watches, the state holds its breath, and history prepares to render its verdict.
