Poll watchers express concern over Harford police presence at Edgewood polling site – Baltimore Sun

Reports of an increased police presence outside an early voting center in a diverse part of Harford County this week have prompted concerns about voter intimidation. In response, the county sheriff’s office said it places one officer on detail at polling places for safety and reemphasized guidelines to all officers about their responsibilities.

Throughout the day on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, a poll watcher observed two to four Harford County sheriff’s deputies sitting outside of Edgewood Recreation and Community Center, one of four early voting sites in Harford County.

Bradley Knott, voter protection director for the Maryland Democratic Party, said photos taken by a certified poll watcher for the Maryland Democratic Party show the deputies beside a police car in the parking lot near the sidewalk that leads to the entrance to the center.

On Wednesday, the poll worker reported that one of the deputies asked if they were coming to vote again.

“That’s totally inappropriate,” Knott said.

Knott contacted the Harford County Board of Elections and spoke with Stephanie Taylor, election director for the county.

Taylor said she contacted the sheriff’s office and was told that there were four deputies at the poll on Tuesday to vote and that they were outside chatting with each other afterward.

A spokesperson for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said there is one deputy assigned to each early voting polling place for security purposes.

“The instance of four deputies at a polling place occurred when three deputies went together, after getting off their shift, to vote and stopped to speak to their colleague who was working the detail,” said Cristie Hopkins, director of media and public relations for the sheriff’s office. “At no time were four deputies assigned to any location. We continue to have one deputy per location.”

After the sheriff’s office was contacted, the police presence was reduced, and Knott says he considered the issue resolved. The poll watcher, however, will remain onsite for remainder of early voting, which ends Thursday, Knott said.

“Deputies who are assigned to the detail and supervisors received written communication today outlining their roles and responsibilities when providing coverage at a polling place, and brought to their attention the concern brought to the [Board of Elections],” Hopkins said. “The nature of the concern did not involve deputies voting in uniform or hanging out at polling places after voting.”

Hopkins added that the sheriff’s office has been coordinating efforts with the board of elections to secure polling sites for many years.

No other incidents at the other Harford County polling places have been reported to the state Democratic Party or the Board of Elections as of Wednesday afternoon.

“Everything is running smoothly,” Taylor said Wednesday afternoon.

Vicki Jones, president of the Harford NAACP, said she was alerted about the police presence by someone who dropped off a resident to vote at the Edgewood polling site.

“What gainful purpose could possibly be served by placing four officers at the entrance of Edgewood’s early voting location?” Jones said. “No other voting locations have reported similar instances of law enforcement presence.”

While Harford County residents can vote at any of the four early voting sites, both Jones and Knott pointed out that Edgewood has possibly the most diverse population of any community in the county. According to census.gov, Edgewood’s population is 46.8% Black, 8.6% Hispanic and 1.6% Asian; 6.9% of census participants said they belonged to two or more races.

“Edgewood is our largest district and Edgewood Recreation Center is the early voting location that serves the most diverse part of the county, and hosts the largest number of voters of color,” Jones said. “There are a number of close races where the outcome may be determined by a strong turnout from voters of color.”

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Edgewood is in the first precinct, councilmanic district A, and “is heavily Democratic and according to the modeling, is a majority minority precinct where African Americans outnumber Caucasians 2-1,” Knott said.

The Edgewood site was chosen in advance by the Maryland Democratic Party to be monitored for this reason, Knott said.

“It’s one of our targeted precincts,” he said. “That’s why we have our people there.”

“Concern about police presence at voting sites dates to the Jim Crow era, when police intimidated Black voters,” Jones said. “We’re extremely concerned that this practice will continue.”

Hopkins said that the center is in “a high patrol area” and along with shift changes and supervisors stopping by, “it would not be surprising that more than one car can be seen in that area.”

On its website, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office has a document providing guidance on voter intimidation, with a section on law enforcement presence at polling sites. The document, first issued in 2020 and updated last week, states that: “A law enforcement officer who is performing an official governmental function may wear a uniform at a polling site.”

A spokesperson for the Maryland Attorney General’s Office reiterated Wednesday that law enforcement officers are permitted to vote while in uniform, whether on duty or while traveling to or from work, citing election law, but declined to comment on the incident specifically and referred questions to the local board of elections.