Portage County preps for Election Day after claims that sheriff intimidated voters

By Michael Neenan/Kent State NewsLab

In September, the Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski drew national headlines for a Facebook post calling for residents to write down the addresses of households with Kamala Harris signs.

Afterward, the Board of Elections voted to drop the Portage County Sheriff’s Department as the location’s primary security provider in favor of the Ravenna police force.

‘The statute allows the board of elections to choose between the sheriff providing protection or municipality,” Nielsen said. “Since the sheriff is on the ballot for this election, it was felt that, in addition to the complaints we were receiving regarding voter intimidation, it had an appearance of impropriety.”

On Oct. 15, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would oversee Portage County elections to ensure compliance with federal voting laws.

Brimfield resident Mike Watson, a poll worker, said he got a letter about his Harris sign calling him a “terrible person.”

He encourages his neighbors to vote.

“I don’t care how you vote, but you should vote,” he said. “It’s a right we have and it can be taken away.”

This story was originally published by the Kent State NewsLab, a collaborative news outlet publishing journalism by Kent State students.