By Matt Vasilogambros and Carrie Levine
Election officials across the country have begun reviewing security plans at early and Election Day voting sites, strengthening ties with local law enforcement and training poll workers to prepare for voter intimidation tactics.
Even before the presidential debate, when President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully,” Michelle Wilcox, the director of elections in Auglaize County, Ohio, was concerned about disruptions at the polls this year.
The rural county near the Indiana border seems like an unlikely candidate for trouble. It has about 32,500 voters, two-thirds of whom are registered as unaffiliated and another fourth of whom are Republican. The county seat, Wapakoneta, is best known as the hometown of astronaut Neil Armstrong. But even in this small rural county, Wilcox said, she will be prepared.
For the first time, she brought in the sheriff to help train poll workers. Wilcox said she and the sheriff talked to poll workers about situations that could come up and how to handle them. For example, she said, the sheriff would get involved in a case of disorderly conduct but is “not the arresting authority if somebody doesn’t have a mask on.”
“Our poll workers listened very intently,” she said. “They know that there may be some issues, so they wanted to know.”
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