SIDNEY — The 100 foot neutral zone surrounding the Shelby County Board of Elections, which was open as a polling location, was violated Sunday afternoon.
“We were open yesterday afternoon for early voting and they were very busy,” said Chris Gibbs, Shelby County Board of Elections chairperson. “Around 3 p.m. the staff noticed that many people were walking in with Lily Vitale literature. People are more than welcome to come in with a slate card to help them with their voting choices.”
The staff investigated what was happening outside the board office and discovered Lori Viars and her husband talking to people outside the Board of Elections and handing out the Vitale literature.
“The staff and a board member asked them to leave and told them they shouldn’t be that close to the Board of Elections office,” said Gibbs.
He said he received a call at 3:15 p.m. about the situation and arrived at the board office at 3:20 p.m.
“They didn’t know me and they lobbied me with Lily Vitale’s information,” said Gibbs. “I then stepped it off and discovered they were 51 feet from the door. There is a 100 foot neutral zone around any polling place.
“I went back out to them and told them they were within the 100 foot neutral zone and they would have to leave,” said Gibbs. “Her husband was sitting in a lawn chair, so they packed it up and they left. They did have a Trump sign against a telephone pole, which was 100 feet away from the polling place.”
Viars, said Gibbs, is a board member of the Warren County Board of Elections. When she was told they were within the 100 foot zone, she told Gibbs she didn’t realize they were that close to the polling place.
“She damn well knew what she was doing wasn’t allowed,” said Gibbs. “This is the kind of crap we’re not going to put up with. We want everyone to have a good experience voting on Tuesday. They will not be coerced. People can campaign vigorously as long as they are outside the 100 foot neutral zone. Our voters will not be bothered.”
Gibbs said an incident log was created about Sunday’s event. The presiding judge at the polling place created the log and each person who talked with Viars and her husband will add their comments to the log.
“I will be presenting the log to the board when we are in session at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning,” said Gibbs. “I’ll see what the board wants to do with it. They can either forward it to the prosecutor for charges or keep it on file.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened,” he said. “I asked them to leave and they left.”
After the incident, Gibbs placed traffic cones 100 feet from the polling place with flags placed in each cone.
“If an individual comes into our shop and tries to use the technicality that there’s no flag, it’s not going to work,” said Gibbs. “One hundred foot is 100 foot. If they’re not smart enough to count off 100 foot, then they need to go home.
“We’re not going to put up with incidents like this,” he said.
On Election Day, said Gibbs, board of elections members and rovers will be working in teams and visiting polling places around the county to make sure there are no problems.
“We’ll be spot checking the polling places,” said Gibbs. “Our voters have a right to privacy when they are voting. They have a right to secrecy when voting. I’m confident the Board of Elections will make sure they have a good voting experience.”
The polls open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and will close at 7:30 p.m.
