Philly-area officials prep for Election Day voter intimidation

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With Election Day drawing near, local officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have taken precautions to guard against any potential voter intimidation at the polls.

“Election Day is a beautiful community event and of course, we hope it will stay that way,” said Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley.

But she said Election Day also presents a growing security challenge. Voter intimidation does not necessarily involve threats of violence, and Deeley said city elections have not been marred by acts of violence in the recent past.

“As with anything, you should always be alert,” Deeley said.

In 2020, Philadelphia experienced a ballot-counting process that reflected the polarizing national election cycle and a delayed result that hinged, in part, on the final vote tally in the city. This involved two weeks of hand-counting mail-in ballots at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, which drew protests and counter-protests outside the Convention Center, death threats against the city commissioners and a lawsuit that briefly halted the count.

On Monday, the FBI arrested and charged a Philadelphia man with threatening to kill and “skin” a political party operative who recruited Election Day poll watchers.

This year, the city hired a security expert and is collaborating with state, federal and local law enforcement to address issues surrounding the count, as well as any type of potential voter intimidation on Election Day.

“If you’re outside the polls, you want to reach out to the police department or the district attorney’s office,” Deeley said. “If you’re inside the polls, you want to let the judge of elections know so that they can reach out to the proper people.”