Harris County poll worker charged with assault over 'blackface' incident

Juanita Barnes was removed from her duties as an alternate election judge on Tuesday after a black voter reported that Barnes made racist remarks and assaulted her at a polling place. Rolanda Anthony said Barnes told her she was loitering and bumped her shoulder. Barnes was ultimately escorted out of the building after Harris County Sheriff deputies arrived and charged her with a misdemeanor assault of the voter. less Juanita Barnes was removed from her duties as an alternate election judge on Tuesday after a black voter reported that Barnes made racist remarks and assaulted her at a polling place. Rolanda Anthony said ... more Photo: Gabrielle Banks/Houston Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Banks/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Harris County poll worker charged with assault over 'blackface' incident 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

An Election Day poll worker was relieved of her duties and charged with misdemeanor criminal assault after she allegedly bumped into a black voter and made a remark about "blackface" following some confusion over the woman's voter registration.

One poll worker walked off the job at the Iglesia Bautista Libre polling location in north Houston after the incident, and another was left in tears as she gave a statement to a Harris County sheriff's deputy about the altercation.

A team from the Harris County Attorney's office arrived at the polling site and has launched an investigation. The voter, Rolanda Anthony, said she believed the incident was a flagrant attempt to suppress her vote.

"I feel like my vote today is more important than ever," Anthony said.

The incident was among dozens of problems reported at polling locations across Harris County, ranging from sites being slow to open in the morning to technical problems that limited the number of voting machines available. A state district judge ruled Tuesday afternoon that the county must operate nine polling locations an extra hour, until 8 p.m., because of the delays.

MORE TIME: Judge orders Harris County to keep nine polling sites open until 8 p.m.

In the incident at the Iglesia Bautista Libre at 10399 Veterans Memorial, Anthony said she arrived at her polling location before 8 a.m. and was told by a poll worker that there was an issue with her address. She was told to fill out a residency verification form.

Anthony, who is in her early 40s, asked the woman why she needed to fill out the form since her address in the system appeared to match her ID perfectly. Before the poll worker could respond, Anthony said, Juanita Barnes, an alternate election judge, moved close to Anthony and began yelling that she had broken the law by not updating her ID.

As five or six voters looked on, Anthony said she told Barnes her address hadn't changed.

Barnes, who is white, then told Anthony, who is black, "Maybe if I'd worn my blackface makeup today you could comprehend what I'm saying to you," according to Anthony and a witness.

Edith Randle, the presiding election judge overseeing the tiny church reception room, intervened, eventually told Barnes she was wrong and to get out of Anthony's way, Anthony and the witness said. Randle declined to comment.

As Anthony worked with the poll worker on her form, Barnes approached her again, yelling at her, Anthony said.

When Anthony later told the election judge she was going to call police, Barnes walked up again and bumped her with her shoulder.

"If you call the police, they're going to take you to jail and do something to you, because I'm white," Barnes said, according to Anthony."

Voters and poll workers should feel safe from harm while participating in our democratic process. We will not tolerate any form of violence or intimidation at the polls. https://t.co/HBgWVHhBio — Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) November 6, 2018

Barnes was relieved of her duties and left the building about noon after sheriff's deputies and two lawyers and an investigator from the Harris County Attorney's office arrived to take reports. Barnes declined to answer questions as she left the building.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the woman was given a Class C misdemeanor citation.

"Voters and poll workers should feel safe from harm while participating in our democratic process," Gonzalez tweeted later. "We will not tolerate any form of violence or intimidation at the polls."

Poll worker Prestina Stuckey, the daughter of Randle, the election judge, said she left the polling site because she couldn't tolerate the abuse she said Barnes handed out to her mother and Anthony.

"She had just been saying little stuff all day," Stuckey said. "She was nitpicking all day."

A deputy investigating a disturbance this morning at the polling location located at 10399 Veterans Memorial issued a Class C misdemeanor citation for assault to a female assistant election judge who allegedly bumped a female voter during an argument. #hounews — HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) November 6, 2018

Anthony said she felt Barnes deliberately had caused a scene to impede the voting process.

"I think her purpose was to prevent me from voting," Anthony said. "She did that purposely and intentionally to intimidate me, but I will not be intimidated."

Meanwhile, the state district judge ordered Harris County to keep nine polling locations open after a lawsuit was filed by the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Texas Organizing Project. The groups alleged that people who tried to vote at the nine locations ran into trouble over technological issues with voting machines or because the polls opened late.

LONG LINES: Houston voting hits snags, difficulties

State District Judge Fredericka Phillips, a Democrat, granted the temporary restraining order.

"The harm of disenfranchisement outweighs Defendants' interest because there is no legitimate governmental interest associated with closing the polls at 7 p.m. when voters have not been provided an adequate opportunity to vote, much less an important one that might justicy depriving plaintiffs of their constitutional and statutory right to vote," the suit argued.

Under the Texas Election Code, voters who arrive after 7 p.m. will cast provisional ballots, which are not automatically counted.

"While we are glad to hear that the nine polling locations cited in the lawsuit will remain open an hour later, it does not fully make up for the county's failure to properly run the elections," said Michelle Tremillo, executive director of the Texas Organizing Project. "While it may not have been the county's intention, the impact of their failure is, in effect, a form of voter suppression. These nine polling locations predominantly serve communities of color. If even one person lost their chance to vote, it is one person too many."

The nine locations were the Iglesia Trinidad Church, 11602 Bobcat Rd.; Metcalf Elementary School, 6100 Queenston Boulevard; Evelyn Thompson Elementary School, 220 Casa Grande Drive; Hampton Inn and Suites, 5820 Katy Freeway; Fiesta Mart, 8130 Kirby Dr.; John Marshall Middle School, 1115 Noble Street; the Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village Community Building, 1810 Bluebonnet Place Circle; Lone Star College Cypress Center, 19710 Clay Road; and Houston Community College Alief Center, 13803 Bissonnet Street.

The Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News participated in Electionland, a ProPublica project is covering access to the ballot and problems that prevent people from exercising their right to vote during the 2018 election. This story is part of that project.