About 150 people attended an emergency meeting of the Portage County NAACP at the Kent United Church of Christ to share concerns about social media posts made by Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski and its potential negative effect on voter behavior.
In identical posts to his personal and public Facebook accounts on Sept. 13, Zuchowski wrote what he claims to tell people who ask him what will happen if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election. Using dehumanizing language, he says he tells them to record the addresses of people with Harris yard signs in order to house immigrants with them.
After his initial post sparked backlash from many community members, Zuchowski responded in another Facebook post saying his recent post “may have been a little misinterpreted.”
“If the citizens of Portage County want to elect an individual who has supported open borders […] and neglected to enforce the laws of our country then that is their prerogative,” Zuchowski posted Tuesday evening. “With elections, there are consequences. That being said, I believe that those who vote for individuals with liberal policies have to accept responsibility for their actions! I am a Law Man…Not a Politician!”
While Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office said Zuchowski’s posts did not violate election laws, many people attending Thursday’s NAACP meeting characterized the sheriff’s remarks as voter intimidation.
Small group discussions took place at tables set up throughout the meeting room. Each table then had a representative share a brief report on the ideas shared in the group discussion about Zuchowski’s posts. In addition to voter intimidation, other table representatives said they believed the sheriff should be held accountable by either being voted out of office in November or being recalled. Another representative said his group wanted Zuchowski to issue a public apology for his comments.
One group spokesperson said their table questioned whether society was regressing and becoming less inclusive, while another noted that the sheriff’s comments impacted residents’ First Amendment rights to post a political sign in their yard.
Residents also expressed concerns about voter registration information being public, how the sheriff’s deputies would respond if a Harris-Walz supporter called for service, the dehumanizing language Zuchowski used in the post, and poll worker safety.
“Our sheriff took an oath to serve the people of Portage County,” one table representative said on behalf of her group. “A very serious oath for all of us — and he’s broken it.”
Another representative noted that there were many “hateful and threatening” comments that were posted in response to Zuchowski’s post.
“The sheriff was giving permission to people to say, ‘Yes, I am writing down addresses of my neighbors,’” the citizen shared. “What is going to happen with this information? Is it going to be posted online? Is it going to affect people’s vote?”
A Kent resident who is Native American told the audience that Zuchowski’s posts “scared” her.
After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, she said, “I got ugly looks and I got ugly comments and I was scared then. I cried when he was elected into office.”
Now, following Zuchowski’s Facebook posts, she said, “I’m scared all over again.”
She noted she has decided not to put up political signs in front of her house.
Portage County Board of Elections Deputy Director Theresa Nielsen became emotional as she looked at the crowd and told them, “You should not be afraid to vote.”
She noted voters can request a mail-in ballot or participate in early voting at the Portage County Board of Elections office in Ravenna.
Attorney Eddie Sipplen pointed out that Zuchowski made his statements “as the sheriff of Portage County… He’s setting the tone… Your sheriff has put this county in a precarious position.”
Instead of taking a legal action that could lead to the county paying out a lot of money, Sipplen stated, “I strongly suggest that you vote him out of office.”
Dan Lusheck, deputy communications director for the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, said his office has concluded that Sheriff Zuchowski’s social media comments did not violate election laws.
“Our office has determined the sheriff’s comments don’t violate election laws,” Lusheck said in an email to The Portager on Thursday afternoon. “Elected officials are accountable to their constituents, and the sheriff can answer for himself about the substance of his remarks. Secretary [Frank] LaRose believes we all need to lower the temperature of our political discourse.”
The leaders of The League of Women Voters of Kent and Northern Portage County NAACP sent a letter to LaRose saying they were “deeply disappointed by your recent response to the disturbing remarks made by [Zuchowski].”
“Your response or lack thereof, has left voters in our county feeling abandoned and vulnerable,” the local leaders wrote. “When members of law enforcement, elected to protect all citizens, issue such harmful rhetoric without consequence, it raises serious questions about who will protect Ohians in their homes and, more critically, at the polls.”
The three leaders — Sherry Rose, president of LWV of Kent; April Secura, president of LWV of Northern Portage County and Renee Romine, President of the Portage County NAACP — concluded the letter by inviting LaRose to attend Thursday’s event.
In a written statement, LaRose said, “we appreciate the invitation and respectfully decline, as the first ballots of Ohio’s general election begin going out tomorrow and early voting gets underway in 18 days.”
The statement continued, “We do hope they include a discussion on the dangerous partisan rhetoric that has resulted in now two assassination attempts against a presidential candidate and several threats of violence directed at Secretary LaRose himself. The Secretary believes we all need to lower the temperature of our political discourse.”
Dr. Geraldine Richardson, Vice President of the Portage County NAACP, told the audience that an organized effort to get people out to vote called “Souls to the Polls,” will happen Oct. 27 at 1 p.m.
“We want you to feel safe,” Richardson said.
