While a good number of local citizens flocked to the Trump Bus in front of the Carroll County Governmental Complex on Sept. 24, not everyone shared the same enthusiasm.
The large bus, accompanied by a Carroll County Republican Party wagon, and a trailer on the back of the bus, took up a large portion of the area directly in front of the entrance to the county’s government building. Carroll County Voter Registrar Stacey Reavis said her office heard a handful of verbal complaints about the bus, while another citizen wrote her office, Carroll County Administrator Michael Watson, Carroll County Sheriff Kevin Kemp, and the citizen’s representative on the Carroll County Board of Supervisors about what they felt like were safety issues and an inappropriate campaigning venue.
Reavis said she witnessed the Trump Bus herself as her office had gone outside to help someone with a curbside early vote. She said she didn’t see anything unlawful, but others may have felt threatened or intimidated.
“I didn’t see anything going on. We weren’t out there for a very long time. And sometimes it is a fine line of we are just out here if you need us versus voters are feeling intimidated like they have to do something. And we don’t want anybody crossing that line — party reps, officers of elections, us, voters, whomever,” Reavis said. “So if somebody feels like that line was crossed then they absolutely need to bring that to somebody’s attention. If they feel like they need to take it to a higher level they can always take it to the Department of Elections. They are trying to monitor and watch those things. We didn’t have anybody come in here that indicated they were approached in that way. There were a couple of folks that didn’t necessarily like that the bus was out there but it was past our 40-foot prohibitive area, and as far as we know it was out there and available for campaign signs and things if folks wanted to pick those up.”
One local citizen, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote the following complaint about the presence of the Trump Bus, citing several concerns.
“Early this week, I had business in the courthouse and found the front drive blocked by a political campaign. This seems highly inappropriate and even illegal,” the citizen wrote. “They are campaigning in front of the door (the only public entry) as early voting begins. Their vehicles are parked in places reserved for emergency vehicles. I was later told one of their vehicles was blocking handicap parking. I don’t care which party or candidate does such campaigning, but it is wrong and should not be tolerated in front of a building which should serve all the people of Carroll County.”
Reavis said both the Carroll County Republican and Democratic parties have local party chairs. She said if someone feels as if one party did something they shouldn’t be doing or if a boundary is overstepped, or if someone was made to feel uncomfortable, she said those party reps would appreciate knowing how their actions are being perceived by the community.
“I was out there for a few minutes for curbside so I didn’t see. So maybe he didn’t feel like what they were doing was intimidating but a voter may feel otherwise, so if that voter feels maybe they need to reach out to that party chair directly and say, ‘Well, maybe it wasn’t the intent to do that but this is how that came across’ so they just understand somebody else’s perception of how they are putting their candidate out there,” Reavis said. “If it gets too aggressive and it gets outside 40 feet, we can’t really control that but that doesn’t mean somebody can’t call up law enforcement if they feel a boundary has by far been overstepped. So they do have some recourse.”
As a Constitutional Office, the Carroll County Voter’s Registrar operates in a non-partisan manner to help all citizens of the county.
“We don’t get into any of the party aspects. It is just for the voters that want to come in and vote and just to make sure everything is fair and above board and that everybody is being treated the same way,” Reavis said. “But if they have a question, we are more than happy to take a phone call or if somebody needs to come in we are happy to help as much as we can and give information as much as we can.”
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