Security On High Alert In New York As Voting Proceeds

NEW YORK, Nov 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Nov, 2016 ) : Voters turned up in large numbers in New York City Tuesday amid high security as both presidential candidates -- Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump -- will be just blocks away from each other here when the results start coming in at night.

"We're in total coordination and consultation with the Federal authorities," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters, "and we are on a state of high alert for Election Day" -- so we have more State Police, more National Guard, more soldiers on duty than ever before." New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and city authorities said some city streets have been closed to secure midtown Manhattan.

De Blasio and city officials said 5,000 police officers have been assigned to election duty, likening it to a show of force seen on New York's Eve in Times Square. Cuomo office said the increased security included New York's cyber analysis unit and its information technology agencies coordinating with the state board of Election and federal departments.

Nearly 90 million Americans are expected to vote today, in addition to more than 46 million who voted early or by absentee ballot. Voters are being watched by thousands of federal monitors, voting rights advocates, conservative watchdogs and even international observers looking for anything from dirty tricks to acts of violence.

Liberal and conservative interest groups are being extra vigilant because the presidential race tightened in recent days, and because Trump urged supporters to watch polling stations in "certain areas" for signs of fraud.

Observers came from as far as Europe and South America to see whether America's democratic system could withstand pressures from within the political system and beyond — extending, perhaps, to efforts by Russia and others to hack into election information systems.