Rhode Island Unveils Election Security Plan: Poll Workers Have a Procedure if Federal Agents Appear
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Attorney General Peter Neronha, State Police Col. Darnell Weaver and other officials on Oct. 21 laid out the state's election security plan, making clear that poll workers already have a procedure if federal law enforcement personnel appear at an early voting site or a polling place. Under a Board of Elections directive issued in August, workers should seek to confirm the identity of any federal personnel, immediately notify police, and document all interactions in as much detail as possible. Federal law prohibits armed federal officers at polling places, and a state law signed by Gov. Dan McKee over the summer bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel within 200 feet of any polling place. Neronha said his legal team is ready to seek a court order against any interference, but regards such 'mischief' as highly unlikely.
On Election Day, Nov. 3, Rhode Island will operate 414 polling places staffed by more than 2,800 poll workers, deploy more than 600 voting machines, and send more than 100 technicians into the field. Board of Elections executive director Miguel Nunez stressed that the measures are purely precautionary and that no information suggests any federal presence at voting sites. Amore advised voters to mail ballots no later than Oct. 27 so they arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day, or use the state's monitored secure drop boxes, also until 8 p.m. on Election Day. 'Our message is not that Rhode Islanders should be worried, it is that they should be confident that our law enforcement agencies are prepared,' Weaver said. 'We want every voter to feel comfortable exercising their right to vote.'
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons 授权图（罗得岛州议会大厦；作者 Frank Schulenburg，CC BY-SA 4.0）
