In Ravenna, Ohio, the sheriff issued a stern and intimidating warning to anyone who placed a Harris-Walz sign in their yard. There was no official reprimand. In Ohio, it seems, voter intimidation by an official is not a problem.
Politico reports:
RAVENNA, Ohio — 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 “we’ll 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. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine called the comments “unfortunate” and “not helpful.” The secretary of state’s office said the comments didn’t violate election laws and it didn’t plan any action.

VOTER Intimidation! SICK.
Didn’t this officer have to take an “Oath of Office?
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How is this not blatant voter intimidation? A strong arm sheriff performing not a Law task, but compiling information so that he can perform retribution on those he politically disagrees with.
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Unfit to hold office. He would have had the proverbial boot to his posterior in short order over here in the UK.
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So, you are saying that you live in a civilized country. Lucky you!
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More a ‘It could be worse, y’know’ commentary on the current state of the UK.
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Trump could not qualify to serve in the military nor would he be hired by any corporation due to his criminal convictions and his narcissistic temperament. Also his racism and misogyny.
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Hence why he lived of his own parents’ dubious heritages and stayed within his toxic bubble of rich white privilege.
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Has anyone seen Ohio’s voter registration numbers by political party?
817,060 registered Democrats
1,508,641 Republicans.
Wait for it:
5,734,850 unaffiliated registered voters who are not registered with any political party.
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Wow!
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Not sure to what extent this explains those numbers — I suspect it explains a lot, but I don’t know that for a fact — but Ohio has some weird rules about how party affiliation is determined.
https://www.ohiosos.gov/media-center/press-releases/2024/2024-05-10a/
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Hmm, FLERP, that is odd, & certainly puts a damper on those numbers. I have to admit I don’t regularly vote in primaries here in NJ– usually only in the primary for state or US legislature when it is in contention. Prez primaries rarely need my input. I guess maybe on OH that would make me “unaffiliated,” despite my registration with the Democrat party…
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