WASHINGTON — As voters across the nation cast the remaining ballots in the 2020 presidential election, protesters in the nation's capital are already planning to take to the streets.
Left-leaning demonstrators have been planning Election Day protests for weeks, and in the final hours before polls close, they are set to converge in downtown Washington.
Some protesters are already gearing up for a longer, more sustained pushback. Organizers at ShutDownDC plan to host a lively event featuring live music, real-time election results and even salsa dancers the night of the election. But they plan for more aggressive actions as the week goes on depending on the outcome of the election, such as if President Donald Trump were to win reelection or to question the election outcome.
Trump has said he would likely take legal action if he believes Tuesday's election is conducted unfairly, especially in battleground Pennsylvania. "As soon as that election's over, we're going in with our lawyers," he told reporters Sunday just before a rally in Hickory, North Carolina.
Trump did deny a report in the news outlet Axios that he planned to declare victory if he is ahead in Pennsylvania and enough other states on Election Day, even if mail-in ballots were still being counted. But he also said it would be unfair for Pennsylvania and other states to count ballots after Tuesday, as they plan to do. At least five counties in Pennsylvania have announced they will not be counting absentee and mail-in ballots until the day after Election Day.
Expecting a drawn-out battle, ShutDownDC organizers have plans to "disrupt business as usual for some of the institutions that are most complicit in Trump’s attack on Democracy." And on Thursday, they plan to host a caravan of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Even outside of the demonstrations, the city of Washington is set to be abuzz on Tuesday night. Many restaurants and bars are planning on hosting watch events, albeit with coronavirus limitations still in effect
Outside of Washington, organizers are gearing up for protests around the country.
Organizers of the Women’s March have called for people to hold demonstrations around the country on election night in which participants “shine a light on the process” by holding lanterns, flashlights, and candles, Vox reported.
In Philadelphia, which has seen multiple days of unrest over the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., dozens of progressive organizations are planning “mass action" in the event of voter intimidation or mail-in ballot invalidation, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
More than 520 events have been organized nationwide by Protect the Results on Nov. 4 and beyond if Trump either declares victory before all votes are counted or refuses to accept election results. Protect the Results is a coalition of more than 165 grassroots organizations, advocacy groups and labor unions led by activist groups Indivisible and Stand Up America.
Contributing: David Jackson, Courtney Subramanian and Joey Garrison
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election Day protests in DC, Philly updates: BLM, Protect the Results