Some of the people feeling anxious over the election are Emily Reeve and her husband, who usually spend Thanksgiving by going on a trip to Hawaii, Florida or even just Disneyland – but not this year.
"I have a toddler now and I'm worried about being in a potentially volatile situation should we be traveling post-election," said Reeve, 32.
The couple doesn't have family near their home in Portland, Oregon, so they like to skip town for the November holiday. But they say they're staying put this time to avoid getting caught in an airport or a popular destination at the same time when news develops of unrest, like rioting or looting "because the people in the area aren't happy with the election outcome."
People like Reeve and her husband are among the growing number of people in the United States who are developing anxiety around the election, leading to them rethinking their travel plans. (Related: SURVEY: Over 60% of Americans feel the 2024 presidential election is affecting their mental health.)
Industry experts and travel agents note that this regularly happens around presidential elections and is unavoidable even if they and federal authorities alike attempt to reassure the public that security procedures are in place for Election Day and its aftermath.
The Transportation Security Administration "always remains vigilant in this heightened global threat environment," a spokesperson said, adding that federal air marshals "continue to carry out critical in-flight security missions" and other duties to keep travelers safe. "We prepare for all contingencies and employ multiple layers of security that are seen and unseen."
Flyers may notice tighter airport security in coming weeks, said Jeffrey Price, who runs the aviation security consultancy Leading Edge Strategies. In addition to more uniformed officers, "there may also be a combination of plainclothes law-enforcement personnel amongst the passengers," he said.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian recently told CNBC he expected consumers to take "a little bit of a pause" in the weeks around the election, as the carrier has seen in the past.
"People like to be home during the election period. They don't want to be out traveling," he said. "I don’t think they want to be spending money until they understand what's going to happen."
While the pandemic upended travel during the 2020 vote, Delta also saw demand flag in the run-up to the 2016 ballot before bookings rebounded in subsequent weeks.
United Airlines supported Delta's findings, with executives saying they expect to see a similar pattern this month and in November and "don't think there's anything to be surprised by."
Businesses are also on alert, said Kelly Soderlund, a spokesperson for the online business travel management company Navan. Its domestic flight bookings are down 19 percent for the week of the election compared with the same week last year. Bookings for the following week, though, are 42 percent higher than the preceding seven days and 82 percent higher than the equivalent week a year ago.
Concerns over possible unrest affecting travel plans this election cycle
Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults said they are avoiding traveling in the U.S. out of concerns about unrest, depending on who wins, according to a recent poll by the travel site The Vacationer.
About 25 percent said they would stay home if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected, while just 16 percent said they would hold off if former President Donald Trump wins. Twenty-four percent said they're staying put no matter the outcome, and 36 percent said the election's outcome won't affect their travel plans.
Another poll, this time from the American Psychological Association, found that 77 percent of Americans are stressed about the future of the country and 69 percent are specifically anxious about the election. Seventy-two percent are worried that the results of the election could lead to violence, and another 56 percent believe the election could be the end of democracy in the United States.
"People feel very strongly about their beliefs, what they want for this country, and how they want issues to be handled," said psychologist Thea Gallagher of NYU Langone Health. "Depending on who wins the election, it seems like issues are going to be handled differently – that's a lot to process."
Watch this episode of "X22 Report" discussing the rising phenomenon of people developing anxiety over the presidential election.
This video is from the Sanivan channel on Brighteon.com.
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