Nassau elections commissioner asks police to keep distance at poll sites, warning county could face legal problems

One of Nassau's two top elections commissioners this week raised concerns about voter intimidation ahead of the upcoming midterm races, calling on the county's police commissioner to keep patrols, including federal agents, away from polling sites. 

Their presence, he says, can raise the risk of legal trouble for the county.

James Scheuerman, the Democratic commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections, in a letter to Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder dated Aug. 10, asked for written confirmation that officers will not be stationed at or dispatched to polling locations during early voting or on Election Day unless called on by the Board of Elections or in response to a specific, documented incident. 

"I raise this issue now because of a growing and well-documented concern nationally: that a visible law enforcement presence at or near polling places, even when well-intentioned, can suppress turnout rather than protect it — particularly among voters of color and other communities with historical reason to distrust armed authority at the ballot box," Scheuerman wrote in the letter, obtained by Newsday on Wednesday. 

Scheuerman, in the letter, warned that police presence not only risks "chilling voter turnout" but also could "expose the county to a legal liability" under federal and state voter intimidation laws. 

James Moriarty, the board's Republican commissioner,  did not immediately return Newsday's call seeking comment on whether he was in support of Scheuerman's requests.

Jeffrey Wice, a professor at New York Law School and an expert in election law and redistricting, said Scheuerman is "entirely within his rights and responsibilities to protect the orderly conduct of elections and to note his concerns."

"The situation is ripe for both concern and to expect the unexpected on Election Day, not knowing how an incident might develop," said Wice, who has been a volunteer poll watcher in Nassau.

He said that while there have been cases of voter intimidation in the county, and incidents that have escalated requiring police presence, he also has seen instances when police have been reluctant to approach individuals electioneering too close to a polling place. In those situations, police have asked Board of Elections officials to intervene. 

The request comes with a little more than two months before early voting begins at the end of October. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, who appointed Ryder, is at the top of the ballot seeking to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. Voters also will decide on candidates running for Congress and state, county and local legislatures. 

Blakeman two weeks ago in a press conference at Penn Station said he thought Hochul and Democrats would "cheat" and that he would invest in "ballot security" and deploy "thousands of volunteers." 

Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle on Wednesday did not say whether the county would comply with Scheuerman's requests. 

In statement, Blakeman said: "It sounds like an admission of guilt. If you weren't trying to cheat, why would you be concerned by ballot security by federal and local law enforcement? Fair elections are something that everyone should want." 

Scheuerman is also asking for the county police department not to help federal law enforcement or immigration authorities from doing the same. 

Blakeman, a supporter of President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort, was among the first lawmakers in the nation during Trump's second term to sign a partnership agreement between county law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Hochul, through the state budget, has recently prohibited such partnerships and required local law enforcement agencies to unwind those agreements by August 25.

Blakeman last month vowed to fight Hochul's policy in court. 

He also created a program of volunteer special deputies who are citizen gun owners he said he would mobilize in the event of his emergency declaration. Those against the program have voiced concern over their interference in protests and elections.

The group, with about 60 members, has yet to be deployed.  

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.