Emily Patrick

epatrick@citizen-times.com

The highest appointed elections officer in Henderson County has explored deputizing civilians to patrol the polls on Election Day.

At an Aug. 16 public meeting, Bob Heltman, chair of the Henderson County Board of Elections, discussed the idea of a "posse comitatus," in which civilians would be deputized and armed to serve the sheriff. He said he asked the sheriff whether such a posse could patrol the polls, but he has since discovered the idea is unfeasible.

"'I said 'have you heard of a posse comitatus? What’s the story?''" he said. "Well, the net result of all that is there’s no time to even try to do it.”

Heltman, who was appointed to the board five years ago by the Republican party, said he discussed the idea as part of the board's safety plan to prevent terrorism, but he has abandoned it.

“It just sort of came to mind: ‘My God, we’re looking at an emergency plan. What about terrorism?’ That’s where the discussion started," he said. “We just opened the floodgates for all possibilities, and the things that are not going to happen are armed guards or police … You’re not allowed to have armed people at your polling site because it might discourage voters."

Still, Heltman discussed the idea at the Aug. 16 public meeting.

Nancy Glowacki, a Hendersonville resident who attended on Aug. 16, said the board opened the meeting with remarks about security, terrorism and the posse.

“The statements that were made from the board were foreboding," she said. “We tried very hard to make comments that would calm it down. Change the focus. Sure make everyone aware, but don’t scare them to death. That’s just not right.”

She said she knows Heltman and thinks he is trying to do his job and promote safety.

“He’s a very responsible man, and he tries so hard to be fair. He really does," she said. "We’re on different sides of the political spectrum. I’ve always experienced him as trying to be fair.”

Gayle Kemp of Fletcher was also at the meeting, and she said the idea of an armed civilian posse is alarming.

"I'm very offended and disturbed by that," she said. "The whole idea is ludicrous."

Both Glowacki and Kemp are active in the Henderson County Democratic Party.

Kim Strach, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said safety planning is one of the duties of county elections officials, but after an inquiry from the Citizen-Times, she called Heltman to ask about the posse.

"He advised me that there is no plan to request the sheriff to deputize armed citizens to patrol the polls," she said. "Discussing ways to ensure safety is certainly permissible at open meetings and would not be improper as long as the county board does not take any action that would be contrary to their statutory authority."

Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald said he has had numerous "casual conversations" with Heltman about security at the polls.

He said Heltman had mentioned the idea of a posse.

“I’m not going to get in the weeds on what we may or may not be doing because I don’t think it’s appropriate for the security concerns," he said. "We’ve had a number of conversations over the past year, and I appreciate his eye to the safety and the security and the welfare of folks at polling places.”

Major Frank Stout, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said there were no plans to place armed officers in polling places.

“We are very cognizant of the people’s ability to come and move around the polling area without any pressure," he said. “We will have patrol cars in the area, but we’re not going to be posting people up by (any) means.”

At the Aug. 16 meeting, the Henderson County Board of Elections circulated a flier written to help poll workers spot potential terrorists. Titled "See something, say something," the flier includes the following "situations to be aware of during the election":

Person loitering

Person out of place in environment

Person improperly dressed for season or environment

Fixed stare

Agitation

Multiple persons changing direction simultaneously

Person whose appearance or manner makes you feel uneasy

Heltman said the list was distilled from documents the sheriff gave the board about bombing and shooting situations.

An emphasis on security could help prevent disasters, Heltman said.

“An attack could happen so you can either pretend it might not, do nothing or figure out is there something we can do better," he said.

He said he's still planning for the election and couldn't say precisely what security plan the board wanted to see implemented.

“What would you do if you were a terrorist and you saw something in the paper? You've got to understand the game of war, which is one of deception," he said.

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