‘Expect to be prosecuted,’ SC solicitor warns those who seek to intimidate voters
Local law enforcement officials said Monday they aren’t aware of any Election Day threats and don’t expect to have problems at the polls, but are working together to ensure all voters can cast ballots without fear of intimidation on Nov. 3.
“Voter intimidation and voter suppression will not be tolerated in Columbia, Richland County or the 5th Circuit,” 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson said Monday at a joint press conference with county and city officials. “This is a show of solidarity by all of us standing here as a reminder that all of us believe that there should be safe and fair elections that are free from the threat of intimidation and free from the threat of folks messing with those who are standing in line and waiting to vote.”
Gipson, who was flanked by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, Columbia Police Chief William Holbrook, Columbia Mayor Stephen Benjamin and Richland County Council Chairman Paul Livingston, issued a warning to anyone who seeks to disrupt the election or intimidate voters.
“Expect to be prosecuted,” he said, adding that voter intimidation is a felony that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Officials said they spoke out Monday to reassure concerned citizens they’ve been in close communication with their counterparts across the state and at the federal level to monitor any potential threats at the polls and respond to them accordingly.
“In the age in which we’re living right now — the greatest pandemic since 1918, the greatest economic disruption in an election year since 1932, the greatest social unrest around systemic issues of inequity and race since 1968 — it is imperative that in 2020 that we make sure our voters don’t have anything else to worry about,” Benjamin said.
While it’s against the law for uniformed officers to stand guard at polling stations, officers will be stationed near precincts and able to respond quickly to any disturbances, Lott said.
“We’re going to have people ready to respond if need be,” he said. “I hope we don’t need to be called — I don’t think we will — but, if necessary, we will respond.”
Lott said there had been “absolutely no problems, whatsoever” regarding harassment or intimidation during early voting.
He said that, as a result of problems with traffic and street lighting during the June primary, law enforcement officials had been communicating with elections officials to ensure traffic flows smoothly and street lights remain on outside polling stations in case voting extends late into the evening.
“I think you’ll find out that this election is probably going to go smoother than any that we’ve had,” Lott said. “Large turnout, but we’re going to be a whole lot better prepared.”
Fears over potential voter intimidation were heightened after last month’s presidential debate in which President Donald Trump, who has raised concerns about voter fraud without evidence, encouraged his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully” to ensure elections were being conducted fairly.
Lynn Teague, vice president for issues and action with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, said she found the president’s comments troubling and is concerned about the potential for intimidation tactics that dissuade voters from casting ballots.
“There are clear laws about how parties can protect their interest at the polls ... and there are rules about how (poll observers) conduct themselves,” she said. “To issue a blanket invitation to go out and be election vigilantes is very disturbing.”
In South Carolina, poll watchers must be appointed by candidates or political parties in order to observe election day procedures inside a precinct.
They’re required to be qualified voters in the county where they’re observing, must present a letter signed by a candidate or party official attesting to their certification as a poll watcher in that precinct and must wear a badge with the name of the candidate or party they represent.
Poll watchers are required to remain in a designated spot on election day and are not permitted to talk with voters inside the polling place or attempt to interfere with or influence voters’ efforts to cast a ballot.
South Carolina Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said his agency is always concerned about voter intimidation, but had received no reports of it during early voting and had not made special plans to address it in the general election.
He said anyone who experiences a problem at the polls should report it to poll workers on site to achieve the speediest resolution. If voters don’t report the issue on site, they should call the county voter registration and elections office for help resolving the issue, Whitmire said.