Cook County Sheriff’s office sends officers to polling places in case of trouble, threats

CHICAGO (CBS) — Ahead of Election Day next week, law enforcement and election officials are getting ready out of concerns about unrest or violence.
The actions being taken are all about preparation—stemming from political violence in the past and research showing that many believe political violence is OK.
“Safety is very much on voters’ minds as we head into this election,” said Max Bever, director of public information for the Chicago Board of Elections. “In the city of Chicago, thankfully, we don’t see the same types of threats or issues as many of our friends in other election jurisdictions are. But we still do have to prepare for the worst.”
Bever ensures polling places run smoothly, and poll workers remain safe.
“We don’t train our poll workers to deal with any public safety issue, or any de-escalation techniques,” he said. “We don’t feel that should be the responsibility of a poll worker to feel like they need to put themselves in any possible harm’s way.”
This is why the Cook County Sheriff’s office is implementing new measures at polling places to ensure safety like never before.
“What do you need us to do? Where do you have your polling stations? Where do you have all of the locations where the ballots go to? Are they taken care of? Are there police there?” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. “We have police we have assigned to certain locations we traditionally didn’t do.”
Dart said this implementation of law enforcement makes his deputies proactive instead of reactive.
Elsewhere around the country, there have already been serious problems.
In Oregon and Washington state, ballot boxes have already been set on fire. In Florida, an 18-year-old was arrested at a polling site for wielding a machete in what police said was an attempt to intimidate voters.
“That is where law enforcement might get involved,” Bever said. “That would be escalated to a 911 call.”
Concerns about such acts are all reasons the Cook County Sheriff’s office remains prepared.
“We fully expect that the elections will have no issues, no drama or anything like that,” Dart said. “But we do also have in place that if there is we will be able to deal with it quickly and effectively, so that it won’t interrupt anybody anywhere.”
On Wednesday, Dart said his office got its first call about an issue at a polling site—a man who refused to leave and caused problems.
Police responded and handled the situation without it escalating.