随着华盛顿特区和纽约市的企业主们建立自己的店面来防范潜在的选举从新泽西州到加利福尼亚州的执法部门正在努力确保出现在投票站的美国人的声音被听到，他们的选票被计算在内。
在摇摆州俄亥俄州，卢卡斯县治安官约翰·塔尔普告诉美国广播公司新闻，他们意识到选举日当天及以后可能会有问题渗透进来，包括投票站可能出现的问题。
“我们在投票站外围巡逻;“我们不会派人在投票站监督、观察和站岗，”Tharp说。“我们没有这样做，我们没有这样做有明显的原因。这可能会让一些选民感到害怕。有些选民不会理解这一点，也不会觉得什么事都有，什么事都没有。”
对投票的担忧
美国广播公司新闻部在全国各地采访的执法官员说，他们一直在与州和地方选举领导人制定计划。在弗吉尼亚州费尔法克斯县，警察局长埃德温·罗斯勒告诉美国广播公司新闻，警察部门与联邦检察官密切合作，以确保在投票站发生事情时，选举法得到遵守。
“我们想确保我们所做的是正确的，”他说。
罗斯勒说，拥有训练有素的投票工作人员是应对可能出现的问题的关键。
“培训选举官员和志愿者成为眼睛和耳朵，了解什么是选举法，什么不是，并有一个适当的分流系统，”他说。
在加利福尼亚州，圣莫尼卡警察局局长辛西娅·雷诺告诉美国广播公司新闻，选民不会“在投票站外”看到警察。
她告诉美国广播公司新闻，提前投票最终可能会缓解一些原本可能在投票站出现的问题。
“它一次在一个地方提供更少的人，”雷诺说，他刚刚被选为国际警察局长协会的主席。
约翰·内斯基是马里兰州鲍伊的警察局长，他告诉美国广播公司新闻，警察在投票站的存在需要“微妙的平衡”。
“根据你对执法的感受，这是在场和感知到的恐吓之间的微妙平衡。我们必须非常小心我们如何定位自己，以及我们安装或提供什么样的光学设备，”他说，并补充说，他们的主要职责是确保交通流量和监视投票箱。
在另一个战场州德克萨斯州，旧金山警察局局长大卫·席尔森告诉美国广播公司新闻，选举日执法的作用是在这个过程中建立信心。
“我们在选举过程中的作用实际上只是维护选举过程的完整性，并确保人们对选举过程有信心，我们在那里是为了减轻出现的问题，”Shilson说。“当然，我们不会经常出现在投票站，因为我知道有些人被制服吓到了，或者他们可能会觉得它很吓人。”
他说他的官员们已经做好了准备，但是他们认为不会出现任何问题。
潜在的选举后动乱
在马萨诸塞州，州长查理·贝克周一宣布，他将启动该州的国民警卫队，以解决选举日之后的潜在动荡。
执法领导人说，没有关于选举日之后动乱威胁的可信信息，但他们仍然保持警惕。
选举由各州管理，所以像国土安全部这样的联邦部门在投票站的物理安全方面作用有限。
“美国人民可以放心，这次选举将由美国选民决定，”DHS发言人蔡斯·詹宁斯说。“国土安全部与我们的联邦、州、地方、部落和领土合作伙伴一道，为选举之夜的安全和安保做好了充分准备。明确地说，国土安全部在人身安全方面的权限有限——我们的管辖范围只包括联邦财产。”
在费尔法克斯县，警察部门的选举安全行动计划包括在一个月内保持高度戒备状态的应急措施。
罗斯勒说:“如果我们需要将这种运营模式延长几天、几周或一个月左右，我们会非常灵活地做到这一点。”。
在新罕布什尔州，那里有大量的民兵组织，新罕布什尔州公共安全部报告说，在选举日当天或之后没有可信的威胁。
“新罕布什尔州安全部将继续与新罕布什尔州国务卿办公室和新罕布什尔州司法部合作，支持另一次成功的选举，”公共安全部发言人保罗·雷蒙德告诉美国广播公司新闻。
雷诺说，官员们正在集中精力采取“整个政府”的方法——共同努力确保安全和安保。
她说:“全国范围内的执法部门当然已经做好了准备，在明天和本周余下的时间里提供这种安全保障。”。
尽管在选举日之前，美国广播公司新闻部的执法官员没有谈到已知的可信威胁，但一名官员表示，密歇根州最近的事件使他格外警惕。
10月，美国联邦调查局挫败了一起极端分子的阴谋绑架并杀害密歇根州州长格雷琴·惠特默。
新泽西州国土安全和准备办公室主任贾里德·梅普斯告诉美国广播公司新闻，密歇根州的阴谋使他感到担忧。
“我们保护每个人的权利，无论是抗议的权利，言论自由，等等，”梅普斯说。“但当它中断并变得更严重，并开始从偏见和仇恨犯罪转移到潜在的攻击场景时，这就是我们真正关注的，停止并插入希望阻止攻击。但我这么说是想说，我们绝对关心这一结果。”
“我知道我们不会指定一个特定的结果。我认为，我们真的在各个领域看到了极端主义。”
Law enforcement has 'delicate balance' at polls on election day, police chiefs say
As business owners in Washington, D.C., and New York City board up their storefronts to protect against potentialelectionunrest, law enforcement from New Jersey to California is working to ensure that Americans who show up at the polls have their voice heard and their vote counted.
In the swing state of Ohio, Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp told ABC News that they are aware there could be issues percolating on Election Day and beyond, including possible concerns at polling places.
"We're patrolling on the periphery of polling stations; we're not placing people right at the polling site to oversee and watch and stand guard," Tharp said. "We're not doing that and there are obvious reasons why we're not. It could be intimidating to some voters. Some voters would not appreciate that or feel that there's something's going on when there's not."
Concerns at the polls
Law enforcement officials ABC News spoke with across the country said that they have been working on plans with state and local election leaders. In Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Chief Edwin Roessler told ABC News that the police department works hand-and-hand with the commonwealth's attorney to make sure that in the event something does happen at a polling place, election laws are followed.
"We want to be sure that what we're doing is correct," he said.
Roessler said that having well-trained poll workers is key to responding to issues that may arise.
"It's training election officials and volunteers to be the eyes and ears and to understand what the election laws are and what they are not, and to have a triage system in place," he said.
In California, Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud told ABC News that voters will not see police officers "immediately outside of polling places."
She told ABC News that early voting could end up alleviating some issues that might otherwise arise at polling places.
"It provides for less people in one place at one time," said Renaud, who was just elected the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
John Nesky, who serves as the police chief in Bowie, Maryland, told ABC News that police presence at the polls requires a "delicate balance."
"It's a delicate balance between presence and perceived intimidation, depending on how you feel about law enforcement. We have to really be careful about how we position ourselves and what kind of optics we put out or we provide," he said, adding that their primary duties are ensuring traffic flow and keeping watch over ballot boxes.
In another battleground state, Texas, Frisco Police Chief David Shilson told ABC News that the role of law enforcement on Election Day is to build confidence in the process.
"Our role here in the election process is really just to maintain the integrity of the process and make sure that people have confidence in the process and that we're there to mitigate issues that come up," Shilson said. "Certainly, we will not have a constant presence at polling locations, because I know some people are intimidated by the uniform or they may find it intimidating."
He said his officers are prepared -- but that they don't expect any problems to arise.
Potential post-election unrest
In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Monday that he was activating the state's National Guard to address potential unrest after Election Day.
Law enforcement leaders say that there has been no credible information regarding threats of unrest following Election Day, but that they remain vigilant.
Elections are run by the states, so federal departments like the Department of Homeland Security have a limited role in the physical security of polling places.
"The American people can rest assured that this election will be decided by American voters," said DHS spokesman Chase Jennings. "Working alongside our federal, state, local, tribal and territorial partners, the Department of Homeland Security is fully prepared regarding election night safety and security. To be clear, the Department of Homeland Security has limited authorities regarding physical security -- our jurisdiction covers only federal property."
In the Fairfax County, the police department's action plan for election security includes contingencies for staying in a heightened posture for potentially a month.
"If we need to extend this mode of operation for days, weeks and or a month or so, we're very flexible to do that," Roessler said.
In New Hampshire, where there are a large number of militia groups, the New Hampshire Department of Public Safety reports no credible threats on or after Election Day.
"The New Hampshire Department of Safety will continue to work with the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Office and the New Hampshire Department of Justice to support another successful election," Department of Public Safety spokesman Paul Raymond told ABC News.
Renaud said that officials are focusing on a "whole of government" approach -- working together to ensure safety and security.
"Law enforcement is certainly prepared nationwide to provide that that safety and security tomorrow and leading into the remainder of the week," she said.
Although no law enforcement officials ABC News spoke with identified known credible threats leading up to Election Day, one official said that recent events in Michigan have made him extra wary.
In October, the FBI foiled aplot by extremiststo kidnap and kill Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Jared Maples, Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, told ABC News that the Michigan plot made him concerned.
"We protect everyone's rights, whether it be the right to protest, the freedom of speech, et cetera," Maples said. "But when it interrupts and becomes more than that, and starts moving from bias and hate crime into a potential attack scenario, that's what we're really focused on, stopping and interjecting to hopefully deter an attack. But I say all that to say we definitely are concerned with the outcome of this."
"I know that we don't assign one particular outcome. I think we're seeing extremism really in multiple areas across the board."
