Latisha Lawson rushed through the wind and cold, determined to cast her ballot at one of downtown Detroit’s dozens of early voting sites.
“I’m a little bit worried about election fraud, but I just have to trust the process and pray that it all works out,” Ms Lawson, 32, said on Sunday.
She is one of millions in Michigan and across the US who cast their ballots before Tuesday’s election.
As people trickled in and out of the quiet polling station in the early morning, many spoke about a charged atmosphere around this election, with some concerned that it could boil over into voter intimidation and even violence on election day.
We are hoping that people don't bring their guns to the polls, that we don't have any issues and that the responsible gun owners will realise that it does make people uncomfortable
A recent poll by The Detroit News found that 72 per cent of likely voters in Michigan were concerned about post-election violence, and almost 64 per cent were worried about foreign interference in the election.
President Donald Trump spent months questioning the integrity of the vote, making repeated unproven claims of fraud and dysfunction with mail-in-ballots, and urging his supporters to protect the election.
"I'm urging supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully," Mr Trump said during the first presidential debate on September 29.
"If it's a fair election, I am 100 per cent on board. But if I see tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated, I can't go along with that."
His son, Donald Trump Jr, posted a video that urged people to join the “army for Trump’s election security operation” and warned that the Democrats planned to “add millions of fraudulent ballots” to cancel votes for his father.
Michigan is considered a battleground state in this month’s election. Mr Trump won by a margin of 0.2 per cent in 2016, a little fewer than 11,000 votes.
The president’s calls are being answered in Michigan by dozens of conservative groups, including the Election Integrity Fund, which has trained more than 500 poll watchers to monitor Tuesday’s vote.
On their website, the group published a 39-page training manual on how to be a poll watcher.
Among the many points are tips to bring food and water and to brace for a long day, as well as how to report incidents and challenge a vote.
“If you care about your vote, you should care enough to protect it," an advertisement for the Guard the Vote operation read.
"We need an army of volunteers to make sure the Dems don’t play games with all those absentee ballots that will need to be counted."
Under law, registered poll watchers have the right to challenge people’s eligibility to vote and report actions by election workers.
But they cannot speak to voters or handle election materials.
Grass-roots organisations such as All Voting is Local have responded to these conservative calls by making sure they have enough of their own observers at polling stations.
“I’m confident that if anything happens we’ll be able to deal with it,” said Aghogho Edevebie, the Michigan director for the group.
“People should feel free to cast their ballot and make their voice heard.”
But others are more worried about conservative poll watchers being sent to minority communities in places such as Detroit that predominantly vote Democrat.
They believe their presence could lead to people not casting their vote.
“We drove here from Chicago, so that shows you how concerned we are,” said a liberal poll observer outside an early voting site in inner-city Detroit, about 450 kilometres from his home.
Guns at polling sites
There are also concerns in Michigan that some poll observers could be armed.
Michigan is an open-carry state, which allows people to wear holstered guns at public polling sites.
Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, tried to ban openly carried guns at voting sites this year, to ensure no voter felt scared or intimidated.
But a judge blocked the order and an appeal has been lodged at Michigan’s Supreme Court.
“People have been open-carrying at polling stations for at least 20 years in Michigan,” said Jim Makowksi, a conservative lawyer who opposed the ban.
“It’s a first amendment freedom of expression type of thing. This is how people express their political views.”
Mr Makowski said simply carrying an “inanimate metal object” without threatening behaviour should not be considered intimidating to other voters.
Regardless of the outcome in the courts, several law enforcement agencies in Michigan said they would not be able to enforce a ban based on lack of legal grounding.
“We’re hoping that just because people can they won’t,” said Bob Stevenson, the executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
“We are hoping that people don't bring their guns to the polls, that we don’t have any issues and that the responsible gun owners will realise that it does make people uncomfortable.”
Mr Stevenson said the fact that most polling stations in Michigan were at churches and schools, places that ban people from carrying firearms, would be enough.
But he said law enforcement in the state was prepared to respond to any calls of voter intimidation.
"We're confident we can stop intimidation. We'll be watching for that. We have laws for it and we're confident that we can stop that from happening," Mr Stevenson told The National.
He said there was a heightened awareness around this election and that people could expect to see more police officers at polling stations.
A recent report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project highlighted Michigan as a possible site for election-related violence, with the presence of active militias and far-right groups such as the Proud Boys.
“Traditionally, the police have tried to avoid being at polling locations, because to some people that could actually be considered intimidating,” Mr Stevenson said.
“But I think the population will recognise the reason we’re there is for their protection.”
Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7
World Sevens Series Pools
A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan
B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland
C – New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Wales
D – South Africa, England, Spain, Kenya
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Honeymoonish
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
The view from The National
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
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THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
