Arizona city pulls police from early voting sites after intimidation complaints
From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
The Democratic mayor of Tucson, Arizona, has barred police officers from providing security at early voting sites, forcing the Pima County Elections Department to seek outside help.
Mayor Regina Romero said Friday that the move is aimed at addressing possible voter intimidation.
Romera said the decision was made jointly with City Manager Michael Ortega and Police Chief Chris Magnus, after several organizatons wrote a letter expressing concerns about the police presence.
According to the county recorder's office, off-duty officers were initially hired to secure polling sites after workers raised questions about poll watchers pestering Arizonans as they cast their ballots.
County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez, a Democrat, said Tucson Police officers had provided security without incident and that her office received no complaints.
In a Friday statement, Rodriguez assured voters they would be able to cast their ballots "without incident," despite the departure of Tucson police, with the Pima County Sheriff's Department stepping in to provide security at all the county's voting sites through the end of the early voting period on Nov. 2.
"We presently have observers or people holding signs at our early voting locations standing outside the 75-foot limit, which is allowed by law," Rodriguez continued. "Some view this as intimidation. Police are there to make sure that matters do not get out of control because of differing viewpoints."
The Arizona Daily Star reported Friday that Rodriguez had been notified on Oct. 20 that Tucson leadership had instructed the company that handles off-duty Tucson officers to withdraw them from voting locations, but Rodriguez told The Associated Press on Friday she did not hear from the city until Thursday.
"We were given next to no notice," she noted in the press release. "We were sent an email at 7:30 p.m. on October 21st which was not read until 7:30 a.m. the next day when early voting sites o... (Read more)
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