The Washington County Board of Elections is hiring 20 armed guards

WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) – As counties across the region prepare for Election Day, the Washington County Board of Elections recently voted to hire 20 armed guards to keep voters and their votes safe.

“It’s just a shock to think that they have to do something like that, and you would never think that you would have to go out and vote,” said Kathy Starkey, a voter in Washington County.

Nick Sherman, the chairman of the Washington County Board of Elections, said the board met Monday to discuss stepping up security.

“(We discussed) what to expect, and made sure our communication was good, if there were any issues that had been brought to our attention, as far as information about violent incidents that could be reported to local law enforcement,” Sherman said. “At this point we have not received any kind of information about the real issues we have.”

He said right now they don’t have enough officers countywide to cover the 180 counties in Washington County. According to Sherman, there are currently about 50 elected officers in the county.

“We’re seeing people stop running for officers and the officers we have are getting older and older, and they’re not a security force that we can rely on day in and day out and God forbid something should happen. happen that we want to make sure we have professionals there to handle it,” Sherman said. “Again, our officers have always done a good job. They have asked for more security. Our election office calls for more security. Additionally, we want only the citizens of Washington County to know that this is the case again. , a safe place where they can come and cast their vote.”

The guards are from RiP Security, a security company from Fallowfield Township.

“They do everything from top-level executives coming in. So we found that they were the best to handle the security situation that we could potentially have,” Sherman said.

It costs $18,000 to have the 20 armed guards tour the county’s polling places on Election Day.

“That money comes from the state. The state has a budget that they allow us to have every year and we plug into it, whether it’s voters by mail, if we have a voter machine that breaks down when we buy something. So every year the state allocates a budget to the counties, and we take it out of that budget,” Sherman said.

He said those hired from RiP Security will be replaced as agents on election day.

“Law enforcement cannot be involved in that. If there is an emergency, they can intervene in any way possible. But as far as a police officer standing at the polls or at the polls, that is not allowed, that is considered a form of voter intimidation,” Sherman said. “So if security has to be there, it should be by the officer or by someone the county hires.”

KDKA-TV spoke to voters Wednesday about the armed security guards.

“I think it was completely unnecessary five or 10 years ago, but given the controversy in our society, we are paying a price for that statement,” said John Hopper, a Washington County voter and pollster.

“I think it’s for the better cause, better safety, you know, better to be safe than sorry. Too often in this country we find out about the latter,” said Billy Seeders, another voter.

While most people KDKA-TV spoke to found the guards shocking, they agreed it might be necessary because the intensity of this election is high.

“There is so much anger and malice in it. It’s just not a regular election,” Kathy Starkey said.

“Democracy must be protected. We need to make sure they know this is a safe, comfortable environment,” Sherman said.