Law enforcement, city officials and business owners across the region are making final preparations to prevent any possible unrest during and after Election Day.
“I’m not in a position to reveal everything we know but I am comfortable that we are expecting to have a peaceful day when voters’ votes are going to be counted,” Krasner said.
Law enforcement officials said they have teams of police and prosecutors watching for voter intimidation across the city.
More than 90 Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) and DAO Detectives will monitor and respond to voting-related complaints about unlawful electioneering intimidation and other issues when the polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday until the last voter in line by 8 p.m. when polls closed. The Election Task Force members will be assigned with Philadelphia Police, the FBI and other law enforcement partners throughout the city.
The Task Force will remain active even after Election Day however as election results are certified, which could take up to three weeks as voting machine totals are tabulated and mail-in ballots are counted and recounted.
"We know all Philadelphians have been through a difficult year, and you know the importance of this election," Kenney wrote. "So we close this letter with one last ask: if you should encounter frustrating or difficult situations on Election Day, let your inner strength guide you. Stay calm, stay respectful, stay above the fray."
Members of the National Guard remain on standby at the Park West Town Plaza in Center City which was targeted by looters last week. Residents and business owners said the armed guards give them peace of mind.
Decision 2020
The latest news on the 2020 presidential election
"Everything is messed up when they had that looting stuff," Jerome Cauthon of Parkside told NBC10. "I'm glad the National Guard is here."
Several stores on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia, which was hit hard by looters, are locked and boarded up. Tedd Hall, the owner of Babe Fashion Boutique, which has been on 52nd Street for nearly 50 years, said he'll be inside to protect his store on Tuesday.
"I'm particularly interested in saving 52nd Street from this insurrection that's going on right now," Hall said. "To me it's always been downtown Black America."
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, plywood was placed outside numerous stores at Tanger Outlets the Walk, a popular shopping area that was targeted by vandals and looters in late May following a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd.
“This is going on all over the country,” Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. said. “This just isn’t like Atlantic City’s a direct target. We have no information that people are planning to protest or do anything here.”
The general manager of the Walk says Tanger Outlets is open for business in Atlantic City and plans to remain open unless public safety officials provide them with different guidance.
Atlantic City Police said that along with their law enforcement partners, they will closely monitor the election like they would any large scale event and they have plans in place to act accordingly.
“Vote for the candidate, your choice, win or lose, it’ll be another day,” Small said. “But it doesn’t give you permission to go, you know, destroy properties and everything else.”
More information on how to report voter intimidation if you witness it can be found here.
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