Department Won't Provide Election Security After Sheriff's Posts About Harris Yard Signs
Source: US News and World Report/AP
Sept. 22, 2024, at 2:19 p.m.
RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) A local Ohio elections board says the county sheriff's department will not be used for election security following a social media post by the sheriff saying people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses recorded so that immigrants can be sent to live with them if the Democratic vice president wins the November election.
In a statement on the Portage County Democrats' Facebook page, county board of elections chair Randi Clites said members voted 3-1 Friday to remove the sheriff's department from providing security during in-person absentee voting. Clites cited public comments indicating perceived intimidation by our sheriff against certain voters and the need to make sure every voter in Portage County feels safe casting their ballot for any candidate they choose.
A Ravenna Record-Courier story on the Akron Beacon Journal site reported that a day earlier, about 150 people crowded into a room at the Kent United Church of Christ for a meeting sponsored by the NAACP of Portage County, many expressing fear about the Sept. 13 comments. I believe walking into a voting location where a sheriff deputy can be seen may discourage voters from entering, Clites said. The board is looking at using private security already in place at the administration building or having Ravenna police provide security, Clites said.
Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski posted a screenshot of a Fox News segment criticizing President Joe Biden and Harris over immigration. Likening people in the U.S. illegally to human locusts, he suggested recording addresses of people with Harris yard signs so when migrants need places to live well already have the addresses of their New families ... who supported their arrival! Local Democrats filed complaints with the Ohio secretary of state and other agencies, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio accused Zuchowski of an unconstitutional impermissible threat against residents who want to display political yard signs.
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2024-09-22/department-wont-provide-election-security-after-sheriffs-posts-about-harris-yard-signs
Dave Bowman
(3,725 posts)Qutzupalotl
(15,159 posts)in charge of election security?
The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is a political organization of local police officials in the United States who contend that federal and state government authorities are subordinate to the local authority of county sheriffs and police. Self-described constitutional sheriffs assert that they are the supreme legal authority with the power and duty to defy or disregard laws they regard as unconstitutional.[2][3] As a result, they may sometimes be referred to as sovereign sheriffs.[4] The movement is related to previous nullification and interposition notions,[1] and promotes such efforts.[5] It has been described as far-right by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[6] The CSPOA has claimed a membership of 400.[3]
SouthBayDem
(32,471 posts)Jessica Pishko's new book is called "The Highest Law In The Land: How The Unchecked Power Of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy." She's been reporting on the criminal legal system for a decade, focusing on the political power of sheriffs since 2016. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Politico, Rolling Stone and The Atlantic.
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/10/g-s1-21802/constitutional-sheriffs-wield-unchecked-power-across-america-journalist-says
Qutzupalotl
(15,159 posts)My nightmare scenario involves these miscreants tampering with ballots after they secure them. The finality of it scares the hell out of me, but I need to read more about it. Thanks for the link.
Think. Again.
(18,598 posts)ailsagirl
(23,843 posts)Last edited Wed Oct 2, 2024, 05:34 PM - Edit history (1)
I just read up on electoral fraud on Wikipedia and I am floored. I knew it existed, but didn't realize that there were so many so-called Americans who have tried (and succeeded) to subvert our basic right to vote.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression_in_the_United_States
https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/voting-rights-timeline
duhneece
(4,253 posts)Were Cowboys for Trump Couy Griffin country.
South-central New Mexico. A very red county in a blue state
LeftInTX
(30,327 posts)TBF
(34,572 posts)of citizens to vote? Could they protect the polling areas to allow folks to come & go peacefully?
I'm annoyed that I have to type that as an American. But that is what the republican party has fallen to these days. And if they can get away with voter intimidation in Ohio, they'll damned sure try it in Texas next.
Think. Again.
(18,598 posts)...just kidding, garland will not be stopping this.
Response to Think. Again. (Reply #7)
PSPS This message was self-deleted by its author.
Clouds Passing
(2,549 posts)immigrant I would rather have my own place.
Mblaze
(401 posts)That the millions of immigrants who entered without documentation during the Trump years were not called "human locusts" by MAGA haters. In fact, the day before he left office, Trump made an executive order to stop the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants.
Runningdawg
(4,626 posts)BTW- MAGAt chatter for the past 4 years has been all about disrupting elections, as many as possible, not focusing on large cities. Grass roots, the good old boys, will be taking care of business. Forget DC, Insurrection 2.0 will begin in small towns.
mn9driver
(4,587 posts)Theres something about the office that seems to attract a**holes and losers.
ZonkerHarris
(25,344 posts)moniss
(6,065 posts)your Elections board says your Sheriffs Department can't be trusted. Will the SD retaliate and have cars parked outside by parking lots and hassling people who pull up to park and vote? Will they demand ID's and searches of vehicles? Maybe have the canines present while they all wear their SWAT gear? If you think it wouldn't happen you need to dial the clock back to the Jim Crow southern states. That's when the GQP thinks America was "Great".
But it goes beyond that. Sheriff Ignoramus sent a clear signal about how anybody of color or with an accent will be treated by him and his department compared to the whites. If you have a Harris/Walz bumper sticker on your car what do you suppose are the increased chances you will be pulled over by these goons for a "traffic stop"?
They know people do know of these behaviors and that's why they do it. The intentional intimidation factor ahead of time.