US election: New York church holds daily prayer vigil to "safeguard the nation's democracy"

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York has organized a daily prayer vigil to call for peace in the face the tightly contested U.S. presidential election.

Father Patrick Malloy led a small group of people gathered on the steps of the church on Wednesday, seated on folding chairs in front of an icon and small display of burning candles.

Father Malloy acknowledged that many people are feeling "a great deal of distress" on both sides of the political divide and that people are concerned about the "likelihood of violence." He said he hopes the country accepts the outcome of the election without conflict.

After one of the most bruising U.S. presidential campaigns in modern times, supporters of President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden were angry, frustrated and fearful on Wednesday, with the result still days or even weeks away.

Trump's declaration of victory in the early hours of Wednesday, with ballot-counting not yet completed, roiled Biden backers, who are afraid that the Republican president might not accept the election result if Biden wins. Meanwhile, many of those in Trump's voter base were echoing his unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

Either Trump or Biden could end up winning, but watching the slowly updating vote counts in multiple key states was too much for many to bear.

Some said they would march in the streets against Trump's overnight call for vote-counting to halt. Others turned to caffeine or distracted themselves with gardening as they fretted at home.

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