Pearl Hubbard picked up some yard signs for Kamala Harris during the vice president’s speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday afternoon, but wasn’t sure whether she would risk displaying them outside her home in a city that is in one of the most controversial political area of the country.
“I’m afraid to put them up,” Hubbard said. “As I was driving…I only saw one spot with one [Harris] sign. Just don’t see them. I think people are afraid to put them on.”
After Joe Biden became the first Democrat since 1996 to win the state four years ago, Arizona’s capital and most populous city, Phoenix, saw tense clashes between local officials and Trump supporters who believed his baseless claims that the election had been stolen from him .
With the November 5 presidential election just around the corner, Trump is still refusing to publicly acknowledge his 2020 defeat and has already suggested that if he loses this year, he will claim fraud again. The allegations have changed the lives of previously modest election offices and secretaries of state across the country as they regularly face threats, hoaxes and intimidation, especially in the seven swing states expected to decide the election.
Related: Political violence in the US could increase after the election, experts warn
Nerves are especially strained in Maricopa, the county where Phoenix is located, and which will likely decide whether Harris or Trump, who has a narrow lead in recent polls, wins Arizona.
After Trump lost the state in 2020, his supporters organized demonstrations in the streets of Phoenix. This time, election officials in Maricopa County plan to have a SWAT team and sheriff’s deputies ready at the building where they tabulate ballots. Last week, Phoenix police arrested a man for setting fire to a mailbox that damaged some ballots, though the suspect said his actions were not politically motivated.
During Harris’ speech in Phoenix on Thursday, the vice president told voters to prepare for “one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes” and criticized the former president for saying he would protect women “or the women whether we like it or not.” But the question of what the former president’s supporters would do if he loses was on the minds of those present.
“I would say I’m definitely concerned about that since he didn’t concede in the last election,” said Bethany Hagen, 34, as she waited for a ride in the parking lot of the amphitheater where Harris spoke.
While no one The Guardian spoke to predicted the impending violence, many acknowledged that living in a swing state made participating in or even discussing politics a fraught experience.
“It’s hard to talk to people here,” said Hagen, a Colorado resident who moved to the state.
Stacey Stocks, a resident of Surprise, a conservative Phoenix suburb, was nervous about knocking on doors for Harris in her neighborhood but had no problems going out. But Stocks, 53, remains concerned that Trump will say something to rile up his supporters, and believes the best way to prevent that is for Harris to win definitively.
“I really hope that most people were shocked by what happened on January 6 and, maybe this time, really motivated them to get out and actually vote,” she said. “I hope this will be a landslide.”
Democratic Party Committee member Ruth Murphy said she is confiscating the political yard signs she displays at her home every night after someone stole a previous party. But she believes Arizona officials are better prepared this year for whatever the election brings.
“I know it can happen, but I think with the experiences we’ve had in the past, we’ll be better prepared if it does happen,” she said.
