Oct 15, 2024 Story by: Editor
RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that it will deploy election monitors to Portage County, Ohio, after the county sheriff was recently accused of voter intimidation via a social media post. This move is part of the department’s routine practice of overseeing compliance with federal voting rights laws during early voting and on Election Day.
The Justice Department stated that concerns have been raised in Portage County regarding potential voter intimidation, including “surveillance, collection of personal information, and threats related to the electoral process.” However, further details were not provided by the agency.
Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican seeking reelection, faced backlash for a social media post in which he suggested writing down the addresses of people displaying Kamala Harris yard signs and sending immigrants to live with them if the Democrat won the presidency. In the same post, he referred to undocumented immigrants as “human locusts.”
Zuchowski’s comments, shared on both his personal and campaign Facebook accounts, sparked outrage among Democrats, who viewed the post as a threat. His supporters, however, defended him, saying it was a political statement on immigration and an exercise of free speech.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio demanded that Zuchowski remove the post, threatening legal action and accusing him of making an unconstitutional “impermissible threat” against residents displaying political signs. Zuchowski later deleted the post.
In response to the Justice Department’s involvement, the sheriff’s office issued a statement noting that “monitoring of voting locations by the DOJ is conducted nationwide and is not unique to Portage County,” describing it as standard practice.
Sherry Rose, president of the League of Women Voters of Kent, said that she was aware of complaints made to the Justice Department about Zuchowski. While there has been “concerning rhetoric” and an increase in yard sign theft since the sheriff’s comments, Rose said that early voting has proceeded without incidents of voter intimidation, which she sees as a positive sign.
In another election-related development, Ohio’s divided state Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the Ohio Democratic Party’s challenge to a directive from Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose. The directive blocks people helping voters with disabilities from using drop boxes to deliver ballots, requiring helpers to sign an attestation at the board of elections during office hours.
The majority ruled that the challenge was filed too close to the election. However, dissenting Judge Pierre Bergeron criticized the rule, saying it “cruelly targets persons who must, by necessity, rely on the help and grace of others.”
LaRose defended the directive, calling it a safeguard against “ballot harvesting,” and expressed gratitude that the court allowed the rule to stand, citing the need to “protect the integrity of Ohio’s elections.” Source: AP News
