Washington, D.C., officials are preparing for another contentious period between Election Day and Inauguration Day but are hoping to prevent the security failures seen on Jan. 6, 2021.
The aftermath of the 2020 election saw a riot at the Capitol while Congress certified the election results. During the 2017 inauguration, unruly, violent protesters damaged the city and set a car on fire. With the 2024 election appearing to be a toss-up between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is calling for patience as the vote is counted.
“The biggest thing that I would ask people to exercise is patience of the way the process works in some of these states,” Bowser said Tuesday during a press conference.
D.C. has always voted for the Democratic candidate since it was given three electoral votes beginning with the 1964 election and is again safely expected to vote for Harris. Several of the battleground states, including Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, could see longer waits for projected winners, with the rise in early and mail-in voting.
D.C. officials have outlined several key dates for the post-Election Day period when they are seeking to implement additional security measures, including Dec. 17, when the electors vote in their respective states, Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress certifies the Electoral College vote, and the inauguration activities from Jan. 19-21, 2025.
During a briefing Tuesday between Bowser, the Council of the District of Columbia, and other city officials, they stressed that there will likely be “pervasive misinformation and disinformation” about the election and its results, along with it being a “fluid, unpredictable security environment.”
Officials are hoping to learn lessons from the Capitol riot, including better coordination between local and federal law enforcement during key election events. Bowser told reporters Tuesday that there is no current threat against the election, the certification process, or the inauguration.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said Tuesday that roughly 4,000 additional police officers from around the country will be deployed during the period from the certification of the votes to the inauguration.
The joint session of Congress, where the electoral votes will be certified on Jan. 6, 2025, was designated as a National Special Security Event by the Department of Homeland Security last month. The designation, which the inauguration itself has also been given, allows significant resources to be used by the federal government to create a “comprehensive security plan,” according to the Secret Service.
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The 2025 inauguration will be the first one since 2017 without COVID-19-era restrictions, as President Joe Biden’s lone swearing-in ceremony saw restricted attendance and tightened security due to the pandemic and security concerns after the Capitol riot.
The inauguration will be held on Jan. 20, 2025, while Election Day is Nov. 5.