4 hours Ago By Mike Jones
Nearly two-dozen armed security guards will assist state constables in protecting voting precincts across Washington County on Election Day next Tuesday. Washington County’s elections board announced during its Monday afternoon meeting that officials had hired RiP Security to have 20 armed guards stationed at various precincts in communities where state constables are spread thin. “The only security or peacekeeping people allowed in the polling places are constables or deputized constables,” Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said, noting that state law does not allow law enforcement officers to be within 100 feet of a polling place.
She said there are about 50 elected constables across the county, meaning some of the precincts do not have continuous security throughout Election Day. There are 180 precincts in Washington County, although many of them are located in the same building within their respective municipality. The constables can “deputize” assistants to work during the day, but it’s often difficult to find enough of them to work all of the polling locations, leading to the county’s decision to hire RiP Security, whose guards will be sworn in as deputy constables for the day.
The elections board did not formally vote on the decision to hire RiP Security, which is a multi-state contractor with its headquarters in Fallowfield Township. Ostrander said the county is paying the company $67.50 per hour for each guard, which could equate to around $18,000 for the day.
The county is using funds it receives from the state’s election integrity grant program to pay the contractor. The decision to hire additional security was made after Ostrander said between 25 and 50 longtime poll workers had either quit or retired since the 2020 and 2022 elections, citing concerns about their safety. While Ostrander said they have enough poll workers for Tuesday’s election, the county wants to ensure the safety of workers and voters by having security guards stationed at as many precincts as possible.
“It’s one of the top questions we have from poll workers, about their safety and the polling places,” Ostrander said. “We want our poll workers to feel safe, since we’ve lost poll workers over the past few years from concerns about safety.” Ostrander said this is the first election in which the county has hired armed security guards to help bolster the ranks of constables safeguarding precincts.
She said there are no threats against Washington County at this time, but there are general safety bulletins about heightened security across the nation with another contentious election expected. She declined to reveal where the constrables or 20 armed security guards would be stationed on Election Day, or if they would be roving to different locations. “There are no direct threats against Washington County, but we’ve seen general stuff across the nation,” Ostrander said.
“If there is a real emergency, we instruct our poll workers to call 911.”.
