4 ms·

> The officer at the polling place I’m sorry, the what now?

by chrisseaton 5y ago

lbotos 5y ago
there was an election in NYC recently, and police were at the locations where folks cast ballots.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > police were at the locations where folks cast ballots Is that normal? That seems massively inappropriate to me.
  - bberenberg 5y ago
    Yes it is normal. They are there to enforce the regulations around no campaigning within a certain distance, and other voting related laws. Plenty of crazies showing up insisting on inspecting ballots and stuff, and poll workers delegate dealing with this to cops.
  - Tenhundfeld 5y ago
    Yeah, I think it's fairly normal to have an officer outside of or at the entrance to a polling location. They're not actually in the room with poll watchers, etc., and certainly nowhere near the private voting booths. It has never felt inappropriate to me – maybe because I typically vote at a public school, where it's normal to see a crossing guard or public safety officer outside.
    - estebank 5y ago
      Seeing cops in public schools is also weird to people outside the US.
      - GekkePrutser 5y ago
        Also metal detectors at schools. Very weird and unimaginable in Europe
    - wavefunction 5y ago
      It's not normal. In fact there was a police officer from Florida if I recall correctly who was reprimanded for voting in their uniform. It's considered potential voter intimidation to have a police officer standing around at a polling place.
  - lbotos 5y ago
    Oh man! Wait till you go to Penn station and see military/police (the line is blurry) on patrol: https://i.redd.it/v1qol3qqfoq41.jpg https://i.redd.it/v1qol3qqfoq41.jpg https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-jtf-empire-shield-members-pose-for-pictures-with-tourists-at-penn-174477958.html https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-jtf-empire-shield-members-... My understanding re: polling is for "election security" which... was a big deal nationally for better or worse.
  - thehappypm 5y ago
    Having some security at a polling place feels extremely appropriate. Any private security would run the risk of being partisan. The military would run the risk of having the ruling party order the military to do intimidation. Local police are the right choice.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      But aren't police unions partisan in the US? Is a police officer standing outside a polling station representing their union's politics? Must feel so to some people.
      - GekkePrutser 5y ago
        They're standing there as the institution, not their personal opinions or unions. I think it's pretty benign.
      - thehappypm 5y ago
        Maybe, but at some point, every single human is partisan. Police officers aren't affiliated with a party, officially, so they are at least semi-neutral. And since local police live in the same community, they're incentivized to be civil to their neighbors. Who would want the scandal of doing something nefarious in their own town's polls?
  - davchana 5y ago
    Is it not? I think police's duty at polling place is to maintain order, nobody shouts, breaks the line, becomes violent, break things, creates chaos. If sny objection, follows the procedure calmly n within law. They are most of the time near entrance. They are never near anywhere you cast the votes.
wcfields 5y ago
At my polling place (an elementary school gymnasium) the officer was in the entrance/hallway on his phone the entire time. Probably some easy OT for a day of more or less basically being a hall monitor.
- gwright 5y ago
  Part of being a police officer (perhaps a huge part) is simply being present and visible. This "presence" generally coincides with any large gathering of people. It seems completely normal to me for a police officer to be there and to have not to have been needed. Sounds like a peaceful event.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    Presumably-armed police loitering outside a democratic process even when there's nothing going wrong seems very strange to people outside the US.
    - bluGill 5y ago
      Places where where the police are there to ensure people vote the right way should be concerned. The US (and the other countries where readers of this likely live) doesn't have a history of forcing people to vote "the right way", which in turn means nobody worry's about it. Those (perhaps the majority of people on earth!) who live in a place where how you vote isn't actually something you are sure is your personal choice have reason to be concerned.
      - chrisseaton 5y ago
        I thought police unions in the US often explicitly declared support for particular candidates? That'd be unthinkable in most countries.
        bluGill 5y ago
        The unions do. However the police officers do not do anything about people voting against the union candidates. That is police officers may want you to vote some way, but they still defend your right to vote against them. (at least for now)

> The officer at the polling place I’m sorry, the what now?

lbotos 5y ago

there was an election in NYC recently, and police were at the locations where folks cast ballots.

chrisseaton 5y ago
> police were at the locations where folks cast ballots Is that normal? That seems massively inappropriate to me.
- bberenberg 5y ago
  Yes it is normal. They are there to enforce the regulations around no campaigning within a certain distance, and other voting related laws. Plenty of crazies showing up insisting on inspecting ballots and stuff, and poll workers delegate dealing with this to cops.
- Tenhundfeld 5y ago
  Yeah, I think it's fairly normal to have an officer outside of or at the entrance to a polling location. They're not actually in the room with poll watchers, etc., and certainly nowhere near the private voting booths. It has never felt inappropriate to me – maybe because I typically vote at a public school, where it's normal to see a crossing guard or public safety officer outside.
  - estebank 5y ago
    Seeing cops in public schools is also weird to people outside the US.
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      Also metal detectors at schools. Very weird and unimaginable in Europe
  - wavefunction 5y ago
    It's not normal. In fact there was a police officer from Florida if I recall correctly who was reprimanded for voting in their uniform. It's considered potential voter intimidation to have a police officer standing around at a polling place.
- lbotos 5y ago
  Oh man! Wait till you go to Penn station and see military/police (the line is blurry) on patrol: https://i.redd.it/v1qol3qqfoq41.jpg https://i.redd.it/v1qol3qqfoq41.jpg https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-jtf-empire-shield-members-pose-for-pictures-with-tourists-at-penn-174477958.html https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-jtf-empire-shield-members-... My understanding re: polling is for "election security" which... was a big deal nationally for better or worse.
- thehappypm 5y ago
  Having some security at a polling place feels extremely appropriate. Any private security would run the risk of being partisan. The military would run the risk of having the ruling party order the military to do intimidation. Local police are the right choice.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    But aren't police unions partisan in the US? Is a police officer standing outside a polling station representing their union's politics? Must feel so to some people.
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      They're standing there as the institution, not their personal opinions or unions. I think it's pretty benign.
    - thehappypm 5y ago
      Maybe, but at some point, every single human is partisan. Police officers aren't affiliated with a party, officially, so they are at least semi-neutral. And since local police live in the same community, they're incentivized to be civil to their neighbors. Who would want the scandal of doing something nefarious in their own town's polls?
- davchana 5y ago
  Is it not? I think police's duty at polling place is to maintain order, nobody shouts, breaks the line, becomes violent, break things, creates chaos. If sny objection, follows the procedure calmly n within law. They are most of the time near entrance. They are never near anywhere you cast the votes.

wcfields 5y ago

At my polling place (an elementary school gymnasium) the officer was in the entrance/hallway on his phone the entire time. Probably some easy OT for a day of more or less basically being a hall monitor.

gwright 5y ago
Part of being a police officer (perhaps a huge part) is simply being present and visible. This "presence" generally coincides with any large gathering of people. It seems completely normal to me for a police officer to be there and to have not to have been needed. Sounds like a peaceful event.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  Presumably-armed police loitering outside a democratic process even when there's nothing going wrong seems very strange to people outside the US.
  - bluGill 5y ago
    Places where where the police are there to ensure people vote the right way should be concerned. The US (and the other countries where readers of this likely live) doesn't have a history of forcing people to vote "the right way", which in turn means nobody worry's about it. Those (perhaps the majority of people on earth!) who live in a place where how you vote isn't actually something you are sure is your personal choice have reason to be concerned.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      I thought police unions in the US often explicitly declared support for particular candidates? That'd be unthinkable in most countries.
      - bluGill 5y ago
        The unions do. However the police officers do not do anything about people voting against the union candidates. That is police officers may want you to vote some way, but they still defend your right to vote against them. (at least for now)