Businesses are bracing for post-election unrest
Uncertainty about potential postelection civil unrest is escalating the pressure on retailers, many of which are already under stress during the coronavirus pandemic.
After the COVID-19 business shutdowns began to lift over the summer, stores often found themselves having to enforce mask-wearing and limiting the number of shoppers, measures meant to slow the spread of the virus.
Now faced with a withering holiday shopping season, they also are confronted with the potential for unrest in the wake of the 2020 election. With the results of a hotly contested presidential election at risk of being delayed beyond Tuesday’s Election Day, the possibility of violence and damage to stores worries retailers.
Civil unrest is still fresh in the minds of many after protests earlier this year following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer. Large gatherings in more than a dozen cities and towns also took place across the U.S. last month after there was no indictment for police officers for the death of Breonna Taylor. And summerlong protests occurred on the streets of Portland, Oregon, where clashes erupted between anti-fascist “antifa” protesters and right-wing groups.
Post-election violence worries 3 out of 4 voters, with just 1 in 4 saying they are “very confident” there will be a peaceful transfer of power should Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump, a recent USA Today/suffolk University poll found.
“There are plenty of reasons to expect some chaos if the election is close in the battleground states. But there is a difference between chaos and turmoil involving vandalism and looting,” said Mauro Guillén, a political economist and author of “2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything.”
Several retailers like CVS and Target temporarily closed some locations or curbed hours after the late May protests over Floyd’s death. Some stores closed because of damage to their property while others shut down because of local curfews prompted by the protests.
The plywood is still up for some major retailers after the summer protests, “but a casual walk around the downtown areas of American cities suffices to (show) not that most businesses are not turning their stores into fortresses,” Guillén said. “Still, businesses should prepare for the worst. Their customers and employees deserve it.”
Business owners – big and small – and state and local officials are uneasy. Even last week there have been flareups in Washington D.C., with a protest following the fatal accident that killed a moped rider police had tried to pull over during a traffic stop, and in Philadelphia after the shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr.
Many small business owners are anxious, according to a survey of 1,000 conducted this month by small-business software provider Womply. While 73% of small business owners list the pandemic as their main concern heading into the election, almost 1 in 5 (18%) listed protests and civil unrest as their main concern, the survey found.
The National Retail Federation, which counts 18,000 business among its members, has been prepping businesses for potential post-election disorder.