Name: Voter intimidation alleged at Newberry Precinct
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Voter intimidation alleged at Newberry Precinct

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Newberry, Pa. – Newberry Precinct voters complained of a heavily armed constable blocking the doorway and engaging them in uncomfortable political conversations as they waited to cast their ballots this morning.Voter Mary E. Kohler said 5th Ward Constable Bryan Davenport refused to wear a mask inside the polling location and encouraged others to do the same, implying that COVID was a hoax."They are not supposed to speak to the voters. That is against the law," Kohler said. "He's standing there with a gun and that puts him in a position of power where he is spouting all this off and we can't really go anywhere. We have to stand there and listen."Kohler, who has a lung condition, said a maskless Davenport stood between the entrance to the church and the polling room, forcing voters to "walk very close to get by him." While masks are not required at polling places, they are strongly recommended."If&nbsp;you don't want to wear a mask, fine, just back up. But to not wear a mask, stand relatively close to us and then want to lecture everybody about COVID and how it's not a real virus basically?" Kohler said. "He was abusing his power."Voter Rebecca Reitenbach also said she felt intimidated by Davenport."It was very hard for me to get close enough to walk past him...He should not have been blocking the entrance," Reitenbach wrote in a public Facebook . "I found it VERY intimidating."Attorney General Josh Shapiro tweeted that he was aware of a constable photographed blocking the entrance to a polling place."Thankfully, we were able to confirm this issue was resolved locally hours ago and Pennsylvanians have been able to safely vote," Shapiro said.Lycoming County Director of Administration Matthew McDermott said he and Sheriff Mark Lusk spoke to Davenport about the intimidation claims. Davenport subsequently moved from the doorway to a table inside the polling place, McDermott said.But Kohler indicated that merely moving Davenport away from the door wasn't an acceptable resolution."That's not good enough. He shouldn't be there. He already broke the law. That's not good enough. He should be removed," Kohler said."My understanding is he's a rather large man and with all his gear on he could look intimidating but he realizes that that probably wasn't the best place for him to be standing at," McDermott said.McDermott was not aware of any claims of Davenport blocking doorways or engaging voters in uncomfortable conversation. He also said that constables are elected by their municipality "so we don't necessarily have control over them individually.""I share your frustration," McDermott said of the lack of regulatory oversight for constables.Lycoming County Director of Voter Services Forrest Lehman confirmed that the office did receive complaints of voter intimidation regarding the constable at West End Christian Community Center."The board of elections can request that voters follow the COVID-19 guidelines to keep poll workers safe. Constables are elected officers. We can make requests, but can't direct them to follow guidelines. Nobody is in charge of them," Lehman said.When asked who had the power to remove Davenport from the polling place, McDermott said, "That would be up to the judge of elections for that polling place."A request to speak to the Newberry precinct judge of elections was declined.The state Attorney General's Press Office said they were aware of the situation in Newberry but that it was the Lycoming County District Attorney's jurisdiction."Our office is aware of this but would direct you to the Lycoming County District Attorney's Office," said AG Press Secretary Molly Stieber. "This would be in their jurisdiction."Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan C. Gardner did not respond to a request for comment.Davenport confirmed to that he did not wear a mask at the precinct and said, "They're not required. I think people need to look at what the COVID-19 Action Plan is for Lycoming County."A request to voter services for the county's COVID-19 action plan has not yet been fulfilled.Kohler also claimed that Davenport made politically charged statements and actively told people to ignore social distancing marks on the floor, to which Davenport responded: "Everything that was said is a bunch of baloney. That's it."Lycoming County Board of Elections official Tony Mussare explained that concerns about voter intimidation should be reported to county voter services."The Commissioners can come out or somebody working at the voter registration can come out and investigate it themselves," Mussare said.&nbsp;Mussare said that he had not received any reports of a constable making political comments to voters that made them feel uncomfortable."We would certainly remove that person. That would not be tolerated," Mussare said.According to Chad Riley, a former constable of Cogan House Twp., a constable's primary duty at a polling place is to be an election peacekeeper. Riley said he had concern with the photo shared on social media because, "it looks like he is standing guard."&nbsp;"For the elderly, people with pre-existing health conditions, the Democratic base, or even Republicans who want to follow the CDC guidelines, if they see him standing without a mask, guarding the door, that may deter people," said Riley. "It could be construed as official oppression."While police officers are not permitted within 100 feet of a polling place, the same law does not apply to constables."Constables are allowed to be there. If they are blocking the doorway, they are not permitted to do anything like that," Mussare said. "If they're saying certain things [we can stop it]."Kohler clarified her complaint about Davenport's behavior at the polls:&nbsp;"It's not just about the mask, it's about being preached to when you're standing in line," Kohler said.&nbsp;Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.Error! There was an error processing your request.Access to independent, local news is important, do you agree?We work hard to deliver timely, relevant news, for free. 100% of your contribution to NorthcentralPa.com goes directly to helping us cover news and events in the region.Thank you for saying that local news matters!Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.Error! There was an error processing your request.What's happening today? Here's your update!Get a daily list straight to your email inbox.Get the latest Job listings in your email! 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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Newberry, Pa. – Newberry Precinct voters complained of a heavily armed constable blocking the doorway and engaging them in uncomfortable political conversations as they waited to cast their ballots this morning.Voter Mary E. Kohler said 5th Ward Constable Bryan Davenport refused to wear a mask inside the polling location and encouraged others to do the same, implying that COVID was a hoax."They are not supposed to speak to the voters. That is against the law," Kohler said. "He's standing there with a gun and that...

Voter intimidation alleged at Newberry Precinct

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