Palm Beach County's elections supervisor warns of voter intimidation

There will be no armed law enforcement presence at the election, but the elections chief said she expects an increased patrol in the area for early voting and Election Day.

One arrest has been made for voter intimidation.

Five days before a high-stakes election that is expected record for attendance set in Palm Beach County, supervisor of elections Wendy SartoryLink said no voter intimidation will be tolerated.

Link held a press conference Thursday morning in which she took pains to assure voters that there is no need to be afraid to cast a ballot, either at any of the 26 current early voting locations or at any of the 377 polling places in the province that are open on election day. .

“We are working closely with the Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement agencies to stop any intimidation of voters at the polls,” she said, against the backdrop of workers opening ballots and feeding them into machines. “Voter intimidation and intimidation will not be tolerated by us and will be reported to the police accordingly. … Everyone takes that very seriously.”

There is security stationed at polling stations, but no armed law enforcement.

“We will not have armed law enforcement at the polling stations. That is considered voter intimidation, but we will have them patrol the area,” Link added, noting that she expects increased enforcement around the polling stations.

So far, only one person has been arrested for voter harassment.

Nicholas Farley, 30, faces up to 10 years in prison on two charges related to voter intimidation and interference after he shouted profanities at a woman campaigning outside a polling place in Loxahatchee on the third day of early voting. He was arrested on October 27. He is currently in custody at the county jail and his bail has been set at $200,000. He is charged with two hate crimes, including corruptly influencing voting rights and intimidating voters.

Link did not directly address the matter during her press conference, but said her office staff will respond to an incident that occurs within 50 meters – half a football field – of polling places. Anything that happens outside that radius should be reported to police as soon as possible, she said.

She said the kind of intimidation voters should not accept includes being yelled at or followed in parking lots.

They are “people following people to their cars, sitting on top of them, swearing at them, trying to tell them they can’t vote in this country, things like that,” Link said. “That’s voter intimidation, and if they can’t get the person to stop, they should call the police.”

Schools and polling stations

Ninety-three of Palm Beach County’s polling places are in county schools, and while students will not have classes for Election Day, the usual security will be present. Faculty and staff will be present on many campuses for a professional development day.

State law requires that a safe schools officer be present on each campus when it is open, and state law gives school police officers the authority to make arrests and carry weapons. The Palm Beach County School Police has more than 200 officers covering its 182 campuses.

Palm Beach Post writers Katherine Kokal and Hannah Phillips contributed to this report.

Anne Geggis is an insurance reporter at The Palm Beach Postpart of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Support our journalism. Subscribe today.