DETROIT (WWJ) – We’re less than two weeks away from the 2022 Midterm elections and officials in downtown Detroit are ramping up the security at Huntington Place, which will again be used to count ballots.
Officials will hold a training session next Friday, four days ahead of the Nov. 8 election, to make sure security at the convention center will be prepared to make sure everyone is safe on election night, according to Karen Totaro, General Manager of Huntington Place.
Totaro told WWJ she couldn’t get into specifics of security plans, but said officials are looking to the events of election night in 2020.
That presidential election saw a volatile night at what was then the TCF Center, as hundreds of people turned out to protest as election workers counted the votes in the presidential election.
“We are looking at all those aspects of what happened in 2020 and how we can work with the team that runs the election piece and runs the ballot counting,” Totaro said. “How can we help support them, how can we make sure it’s a safe and secure environment for everybody who’s in the building, working or overseeing as a challenger or what have you?”
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Whether it’s an election, convention or another event, Totaro says her team works to make sure all their clients “all feel that our building is safe and secure and ready and always has a ‘plan B’ and knows who to go to for resources.”
Officials at Huntington Place are working with Homeland Security, FBI and the Detroit Police Department, Totaro said.
“So everybody who needs to be involved is definitely involved. And we share information and communicate, and that’s the critical part is that we’re all communicating constantly with each other,” she said.
Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov, 8, as Michiganders vote in the gubernatorial race between incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican challenger Tudor Dixon, as well as a number of key congressional races and ballot initiatives, including whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.