Bexley trying to deter possible poll worker harassment
Bexley City Council is considering legislation that would protect citizens who volunteer at the polls from harassment.
Sam Marcellino, chair of council’s Safety and Health Committee, who introduced the legislation, said it's a preventative measure for Bexley and was prompted by previous incidents around the country.
“This (ordinance) gives us some teeth to make sure that we can hold anybody in violation of this ordinance accountable,” Marcellino said at council’s first reading Sept. 27. “We do have an election coming up here in this November, and we'd like for this to be in place by the time that election takes place.”
For the ordinance to be in effect by the Nov. 8 election, legislation will go into effect immediately if approved by council and signed by Mayor Ben Kessler, foregoing the usual 30-day waiting period, City Attorney Marc Fishel said.
“It’s modeled after an ordinance that was recently passed by Upper Arlington,” Fishel said. “It gives the Bexley Police Department, should there be a problem, a little bit of extra teeth to be able to take action immediately and not deal with it after the fact.”
The ordinance would ban anyone other than a resident waiting to vote from standing or loitering, influencing or attempting to influence a voter within 100 feet of a poll or voting place during the hours when polls and voting places are open or hindering or interfering with an election official in the execution of his or her duties. Any violation would be a first-degree misdemeanor.
A fine or jail time is not specified in the current draft, but Fishel said the ordinance mirrors Ohio Revised Code, which states that those who are convicted of poll worker harassment will receive a mandatory prison term of three days, which cannot be suspended.
The ordinance will add an additional local penalty on top of any penalty that the state enforces, Fishel said.
“The idea is to give an ability to the police in Bexley to not just enforce any misconduct, which they currently have the authority to do, but also the threat of a more significant penalty, which will hopefully be a deterrent,” Fishel said.
The ordinance is scheduled for a second reading Oct. 11, with a third and final reading and public hearing set for Oct. 25.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Bexley trying to deter possible poll worker harassment
