PEORIA, Ill. — The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office will be ready at a moment’s notice to respond to any voter intimidation at the polls.
Sheriff Brian Asbell laid out the plans to WMBD News.
“We are going to have a dedicated, extra patrol unit on Election Day, just to be more of a quick response team in case there is an issue,” he said.
“We’re not going to be sitting at any polls, except for any traffic congestion which might occur, and that typically does happen on Election Night at the [Peoria County Elections] Commission building, because all the 58 polling places come to the center at once, and there’s a big line of cars on Brandywine. But we’ll probably have three or four deputies hired back on overtime for the day, and they’ll be rovers, and if there’s a problem at any specific polling area, we’ll respond to that and manage it.”
Asbell said there’s no “blanket response” when responding to cases of voter intimidation and electioneering, which means the charges can vary for committing such crimes.
“You could potentially have a trespassing issue; you could have obstructing, if they’re given a lawful order to remove. Disorderly conduct is another charge that possibly could be used,” he said.
Just like the potential criminal charges for the crime, what constitutes voter intimidation is taken on a case-by-case basis, Asbell said.
“Say there is a group [representing a political candidate] that shows up, it depends where they’re located. If they’re not on the property, now you have the gray area of freedom of speech, and that’s something that will be taken into consideration,” he said.
“It’s very similar to the protests we’ve been dealing with throughout the summer. There is a legal right, but you have to make sure they’re on public property, they’re not impeding traffic, and not in a residential area. We’ll do whatever’s necessary, depending on what the situation is.”
The sheriff was quick to note these plans are all precautionary.
Asbell said there had been no problems this election season with early voting, and there’s never been a noted case of voter intimidation in the county’s history.
“There’s no evidence to support or indicate there’s going to be a problem,” he said. “We’ll have someone at a polling place that will give problems, but we’ll manage those on a case-by-case basis.”
As far as electioneering goes, Elections Commission Executive Director Thomas Bride said on-site election judges will give people a chance to remove any articles of clothing or accessories promoting one candidate before law enforcement is called.
Where Asbell worries the most about problems is after Election Day.
“Everything we’ve seen thus far this year has been compounded at a different level. You have the health pandemic, you have social unrest, we’ve had budgetary reductions,” he said.
“All this has come, and there’s a lot of people in our community who are fearful. There’s a lot of tension in the air.
“It almost feels like a powder keg.”
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