Politics and views in the United States.

Philadelphia's District Attorney says the city is prepared for any election violence, doctors advise about how to handle Election Stress Disorder, and Oregon has a high number of women in government.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Anybody who thinks it's time to insult, to deride, to mistreat, to threaten people, F around and find out.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner says the city's well-prepared for any election violence.

Officials nationwide are beefing up security, but an AP poll shows 4 in 10 voters say they're very worried about a violent attempt to overturn the results.

Others say they mistrust local or state election officials.

According to New York Times research, right-wing extremist groups are starting to coordinate on the social media platform Telegram.

The paper spoke to police who warned against dismissing the thousands of messages they examined.

Researchers at the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public say they're already seeing false election claims focusing on Pennsylvania, the largest swing state.

Kate Starbird, the center's co-founder, says misinformation might start with a small truth like an isolated case of a voting machine recording a ballot entry the voter didn't want, but can snowball.

When people are saying the machines aren't working, this is true.

It starts as a rumor but eventually becomes just fact.

But it gets twisted into this narrative that it's an intentional effort to disenfranchise certain voters, and that's false.

So we can see that sort of intentionality is one place it gets twisted.

Election officials say close margins mean it'll be a while before a presidential win is announced.

Waiting could be especially tough in the current tense atmosphere, but Selina Stewart with the League of Women Voters warns that state rules could slow the count.

Whether they can start counting mail-in ballots before or on Election Day, that's critical.

The number of mail-in ballots in each state that they have to process and validate is a factor.

Whether states allow mail-in ballots to be accepted after Election Day.

One place political reporters say they'll be watching is Glynn County, Georgia.

Both the Harris and Trump campaigns have made last-ditch efforts to sway voters in the normally Republican stronghold.

Political analysts say shifting demographics and rising diversity make it one to keep an eye on, and in future races as well.

The heightened stakes are taking a toll on our mental health, and experts are giving it a name, election stress disorder.

Dr. Jennifer Embree with the Indiana University School of Nursing offers tips to handle it.

Think about the people that keep you calm and really are your support people.

Those are the people you need to be connecting with, not people that are going to make you more anxious, more upset.

That's one thing, is to keep the calm around you.

A new report shows Oregon has the third highest percentage of women in city governments, maybe thanks to groups like Emerge Oregon, which has helped more than 100 of its alums reach elected positions.

Annie Ellison, its outgoing director, says the political system wasn't designed with women, particularly women of color, in mind.

This is a system that was built pretty immaculately to keep women and women of color out, even if it's not the intention now.

When do we have city council meetings?

Most of these city council meetings are unpaid, and they're at 7 o'clock at night.

If you're a caregiver, that's bedtime.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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