When the Biden administration began at the start of 2021, tensions were already high with the wildly destructive insurrection on January 6th of that year. It was a shock that such an unruly mob pushed passed the law and order of our nation’s capital unseen. The result of that fateful day left six Americans dead, and more than one hundred police officers injured, but it also lowered the morale and trust of American citizens for their own government.

Fast forward four years: we are about to select a new president yet again, and there is still the scent of gunpowder and flames in the air because the shooting and burning has never stopped. Former President Trump was laid victim to an attempted assassination on July 13th of this year. The threat to another human life is inexcusable, but it is clear that there are people out there that are angry over the controversy surrounding Trump and the chaos that has followed him like a black cloud since day one.

Earlier this month, two ballot boxes were set on fire in Washington state, incinerating hundreds of votes into mere charcoal dust. The motive of this incident is impossible to pinpoint whether it was at the hands of a Republican or a Democrat as the ballots inside each box would have been undeniably full of varied candidate selections. Nonetheless, this was still a senseless act of vandalism in an attempt to silence the voice of a good portion of voters.

With events like these, who is to say we won’t see another “terrorist attack” as some have described the January 6th riot?

According to AP News, Supreme Court judges are already waiting with bated breath for possible dissent over unfavorable election outcomes. U.S District Judge Reggie Walton states says of Trump, “He’s riling up the troops again, so if he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s not inconceivable that we will experience the same situation again.”

This fear of violent uprising is extremely prevalent amongst the consensus of American voters as well. PBS News shared a poll that states that 4 out of 10 voters are concerned with the possibility of violence following the election results. That means nearly half of all voters host fear in the back of their mind that another heinous act has the potential to recur.

The good news is that officials are already taking extra safety precaution measures even though they are not necessarily expecting another insurrection. Some of those extra precautions include implementing extra law enforcement, disaster drills, and writing preemptive emergency plans, according to PBS News.

This is the United States: a champion of the first amendment. We should be allowed to voice our opinions without living frozen in fear over physical retaliation. We should also trust that our government has systems in place to accurately count all ballots, so that, no matter the outcome, the rightful presidential elect can take office and may have the freedom to do so peacefully.