Brace for chaos: Why America is on edge

The deadlocked race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is unlikely to be decided on election night – and the former president is again setting himself to contest the results.

Donald Trump has a simple closing message for voters: “Kamala broke it and we will fix it.”

It is, in all likelihood, a winning argument. Three-quarters of Americans say their country is heading in the wrong direction, after years of painful inflation and record illegal immigration.

But Mr Trump cannot help himself. Two days before the election, at a rally in must-win Pennsylvania, he immediately went off script to accuse “demonic” Democrats of “trying so hard to steal this damn thing” and say he “shouldn’t have left” the White House in 2021.

For weeks, the Republican has peppered his remarks with baseless accusations of cheating, even as he has confidently boasted that he will defeat Kamala Harris. This rant in Pennsylvania, however, was his most conspiratorial at a point where discipline was crucial.

Donald Trump walks off stage after speaking during a campaign rally at Lancaster Airport in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

It remains to be seen whether such comments will have any significant impact on undecided voters and on those still weighing up whether to cast a ballot at all. What is clear is that Mr Trump is once again setting himself to contest the results of an election he may not win.

This is a 50-50 race. For every positive piece of polling data for the Vice President, there is another number that suggests the race is breaking Mr Trump’s way.

So unless the polls are wrong – and even minor inconsistencies could lead to an unforeseen blowout in either direction – it is highly unlikely the winner will be known on election night.

In particular, counting rules in Pennsylvania mean officials will likely need several days to process ballots cast by mail. The count in other swing states may be similarly delayed.

Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Lancaster Airport in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Mr Trump is not wrong to complain about this. It is a frankly ridiculous feature of the US system that some states confirm their results within hours, while others take days.

Where Mr Trump wrong is to use this uncertainty to make baseless claims of cheating.

That is what he did four years ago, when he prematurely claimed victory and alleged that a “major fraud on our nation” was being perpetrated. He never produced proof, and yet he sought to contest the results all the way through to a violent invasion of the US Capitol.

This time around, election officials have implemented sweeping precautions to ensure their safety while the ballots are cast and counted: bulletproof glass, armed guards, warehouses protected by barbed wire fencing, built-in escape routes, National Guard troops on standby.

Election law expert David Becker says that while he is “100 per cent confident” the legitimate winner of the race will be sworn in on January 20, he is “very worried about the damage that will have been done to our democracy and our society in the meantime”.

Brace for chaos.

Originally published as Brace for chaos: Why America is on edge