By Jim Bloch
“The police department is ready to make sure every eligible voter in St. Clair can vote starting Saturday through Election Day with no fear of intimidation or harassment,” said St. Clair Police Chief Tim Raker.
“Early voting starts this Saturday, so Oct. 26 through Sunday, Nov. 3,” said City Clerk Annette Sturdy. “Early voting is here in the municipal building from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.”
Raker and Sturdy addressed the city council at its regular meeting Oct. 21, as heard on the recording of the proceedings by CTV-Channel 6, which was posted on YouTube.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters, encouraged by the president himself, stormed the US Capitol, breaking into the building as Congress prepared to certify the electoral votes. Six people died, including one police officer; 174 officers were injured. The insurrectionists caused $1.6 in damages to the Capitol. By early 2024, 749 people had been sentenced for their roles in melee, including 467 sentenced to incarceration. The attack followed months of harassment of local election workers by Trump and his supporters.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson recently told Channel 4 News that she was worried about “foreign and domestic bad actors” willing to use violent threats and actions to intimidate election officials and voters. Benson’s office has provided extra funding for election security and has been working with local law enforcement officials to prepare for worst-case scenarios.
Benson called the election “so consequential for our nation.”
“To let everyone know, the law gives Clerk Sturdy and her staff full authority to keep the peace at her polling stations,” Raker said. “But the police department will be more than happy to show up for anybody doesn’t adhere to that authority and help them adhere to it.”
On Nov. 5, the polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
“There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 4,” Sturdy said. “We’ll be getting everything ready for the next day. We do have a council meeting that night. The chambers will have our (election) setup here, but there will be chairs for the public, of course. It will look a little bit different out there in the audience.”
Overall, preparations for Election Day are going well, Sturdy said.
“We’re ready for the election,” said Raker. “I’ve been on more Zoom calls and trainings in the past two months — so we’re ready for Election Day.”
“We’ve issued 1,226 absentee ballots so far, which is about 25 percent of the voters,” Sturdy said. “I think that’s incredible, moving toward that goal of our highest voter turnout ever.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.