An Ohio sheriff has been stripped of his job protecting a county early voting site after he likened immigrants to insects and urged residents to record addresses of people with yard signs supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, local elections board members said.
In a Facebook post earlier this month, Portage County Sheriff Bruce D. Zukowski called Harris a “laughing hyena” and likened the immigrants to locusts, the crop-eating pests that in the Bible brought plagues to Egypt.
“Write down all the addresses of everyone who has a Harris sign in their yard!” Zukowski, a Republican seeking reelection, said of Harris’ supporters, according to a screenshot of the now-deleted post. “That way, when immigrants need a place to live, we already have the addresses of their new families,” Zukowski wrote.
His comments drew swift backlash, and on Friday the nonpartisan Portage County Board of Elections voted 3-1 to remove the sheriff’s department from providing security at the board’s offices during early voting from Oct. 8 to Nov. 3. (One Republican board member voted in favor of the motion, and one opposed.)
Early voting in Portage County, southeast of Cleveland, allows residents to vote only at the Board of Elections office.
The elections board’s vote came in response to resident anxiety stemming from Zukowski’s post and concerns that the sheriff’s office presence on the scene could “create the appearance of fraud,” said elections board Vice Chair Terry Nielsen, a Democrat.
Dennis L. Smith, chairman of the Portage County Board of Elections and president of the county Democratic Party, said the board has received many calls from residents who say they won’t vote early because of Zukowski’s post.
“I don’t know what his intention was with those words, but people were scared,” Smith said Monday. “I believe the job of the elections board is to provide access for everyone who is eligible to vote, without barriers or intimidation.”
Zukowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a follow-up Facebook post last week, the sheriff wrote that his original post “may have been slightly misconstrued,” adding that “anyone who votes for someone with a liberal agenda must take responsibility for their actions.”
The backlash to his initial post was bipartisan.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, called the post “deeply disappointing.” The Portage County chapter of the NAACP called it “appalling.” Portage County Commission Chairman Tony Badalamenti resigned from his leadership of the local Republican committee after the post, saying he “wanted nothing to do with” the GOP.
“This is the stupidest thing an adult has ever posted on Facebook,” Badalamenti, a Trump supporter, said in an interview Monday, adding that “our county does not have a problem with illegal immigration.”
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office said it had determined Zukowski’s comments did not violate election law. Smith said police in Ravenna, Ohio, will likely provide security for the county during the early voting period.
Neither the Trump campaign nor the Harris campaign responded to requests for comment.
Last Thursday, the day before the board voted to strip Zukowski of his security position, the Portage County chapter of the NAACP held a packed emergency meeting at the church where concerned residents aired their frustrations with the sheriff, said Frank Hairston, the chapter’s public relations director.
“His comments about the vice president were racist,” Hairston said in an interview. “We truly believe that.”
Hairston, 72, a Harris supporter, said the incident this month has heightened his fears about the sheriff’s job.
She said a man parked his car outside her Ravenna home one night, took a photo of her pro-Harris yard sign, then drove off.
When the sheriff posted the post a few days later, Mr. Hairston said his office was “overwhelmed” with the possibility that supporters of Ms. Harris could be punished if former President Donald J. Trump wins the presidential election.
Hairston said his concerns were shared by many people he’s spoken to in Portage County, which is more than 80% white and where Trump won the last two presidential elections. Some Harris supporters felt the need to remove the signs after the sheriff’s post was removed, Hairston said.
“The Portage County Sheriff should be supporting all the residents of Portage County,” Hairston said, “and that’s all of us.”
