Signs that Blackouts May Jeopardize the November 2020 Election

March 04, 2020|Battery, California, Elections, Instant On, IO-5M,

PSPS Blackout Outage Election Security Presidential Primary California November Donald Trump — Image thanks to the Associated Press, depicting the outage following Superstorm Sandy of 2012: https://news.yahoo.com/election-watch-voting-darkness-authors-tips-185301480--election.html

NBC News reports that during the 2020 Californian March 3rd Primary Election, a major power outage near the Los Angeles International Airport and surrounding polling centers caused delays during outages. See article here. This outage demands attention, as it heralds potentially tremendous risks to the integrity of the 2020 Presidential Election.

February 2020 was found to be the driest February on record for many cities in California. See article here. This has led to outages and fires early in the year. If the trend continues true throughout the Summer and Autumn, widespread outages may very likely coincide directly with the 2020 Election.

Major outages of 2018-2019 occurred during the months of October and November. PG&E projects the preventative blackouts, or Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), to continue for the next decade. See article here. PSPS de-energizaiton events occur during conditions, such as notable dryness and windiness, before and during fires, as to reduce the risk of aging electrical infrastructure sparking a blaze. These outages have lasted as long as a week at a time.

With the Presidential Election scheduled for November 3rd, directly in the heart of PSPS season, is California needs to take the risk of power outages seriously. A de-energization event during the heart of the election would severally jeopardize the integrity of the results, and would cause havoc on polling centers. Voters in Southern California already experienced long lines due to new electronic polling booths. See article here. A blackout this November would surely surely tarnish the rollout of the new digital voting centers.

Battery backup solutions, such as the IO-5M, should have been considered from the beginning. Instant On insists on protecting communities from power outages, and seeks strategic and decisive collaboration to safeguard the upcoming vote. Contact us here to inquire more information about backup solutions, such as the IO-5M.

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