The Portage County, Ohio, elections board has barred its sheriff’s office from providing security during early voting after Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski (R) urged people to collect the addresses of residents displaying yard signs for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The board’s decision Friday, which affects in-person absentee voting, came a week after Zuchowski said in public Facebook posts that residents should “write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!” The messages sparked concerns among local residents, civil rights groups and regional politicians about voter intimidation during the presidential election, in which Harris is the Democratic nominee.
The elections board is now considering whether police from the town of Ravenna, Ohio, or a private firm will take over election security duties. And Zuchowski, who is seeking reelection, took down his posts after the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio sent him a letter last week arguing that he had “made an impermissible threat” against residents for expressing their political beliefs.
Elections board member Randi Clites, who introduced the motion to change the county’s elections security policy, said in a statement Friday that public comments in response to Zuchowski’s posts had made clear “there is perceived intimidation by our Sheriff against certain voters.”
“I believe walking into a voting location where a Sheriff Deputy can be seen may discourage voters from entering,” Clites (D) wrote.
In a Facebook post on Sept. 17, the day the ACLU sent the sheriff its letter, Zuchowski wrote on his public page that he had “a first amendment right as do all citizens,” adding that his posts “may have been a little misinterpreted??”
Zuchowski wrote that if Portage County residents voted for Harris and supported her board policies, “then that is their prerogative.” He continued: “That being said…I believe that those who vote for individuals with liberal policies have to accept responsibility for their actions!”
He did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment Tuesday evening.
In recent weeks, Portage County has joined Springfield — about 160 miles southwest — as an Ohio community thrust into the national spotlight after conservative politicians made public, inflammatory comments about immigrants there.
Tensions in Portage County rose on Sept. 13, when Zuchowski made identical posts on his public and private Facebook accounts suggesting that the county would see an influx of undocumented immigrants if Harris wins the presidential race.
He said residents should note the addresses of Harris supporters so that if undocumented immigrants — whom he described collectively as a “locust” — moved there after the election, “We’ll already have the addresses of their New families … who supported their arrival!” he wrote.
Alongside the caption, Zuchowski posted photos from Fox News coverage of Springfield and Aurora, Colo. — both of which former president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have mentioned while repeating baseless claims about immigrant communities.
In the days after Zuchowski’s initial posts, residents called the county’s board of elections office to share concerns about the sheriff’s messages, said Terrie Nielsen, deputy director of the board.
As those worries grew, the county’s NAACP chapter held an emergency meeting Thursday for community members to discuss the matter. Nielsen, who attended, said it was “disheartening” to hear residents talk about the posts.
“There were so many people who stood up and said they were afraid to vote, and that is just not acceptable,” she told The Washington Post.
The next day, the four-person board of elections voted to change its policy on security for in-person absentee voting. Three members — Clites, Doria Daniels (R) and board chair Denise Smith (D), who is also chair of the county’s Democratic Party — voted for the change.
Amanda Suffecool, a board member and chair of the Portage County GOP, dissented, calling the vote “unfortunate.” In a Facebook post Monday, Suffecool said that hiring alternate security improperly “casts aspersions” on the sheriff’s department.
“These men and women from the sheriff’s department have committed no crime and serve the county faithfully,” Suffecool wrote. “For them to be caught up in this fight between the parties is unacceptable.”
In her statement Friday, Clites thanked the Portage County deputies who had worked during previous elections.
“I do not for one second believe any Deputy would not continue to provide that level of service this election cycle, however not every citizen or voter has had that same opportunity to build the level of trust with our Deputies,” Clites said.
