TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Border Patrol agents spotted at a Tallahassee early voting site last week were not there on enforcement business, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said. They had stopped hoping to cast their own ballots before heading out of state.
Earley said the agents pulled in at the Northeast Library voting site, which is the final polling location on U.S. Highway 319 before the road leaves Florida. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, told him the two vehicles belonged to a team usually based in South Florida that had just been reassigned out of state and would be gone on Election Day.
Once the agents learned they could not vote there because they were not registered in Leon County, they left right away, Earley said. He said he accepted that explanation, that it matched what he knew and that he considered it a one-time event. He also told voters they can feel safe voting in person.
The sighting came as two Florida counties reported federal agents at or near early voting locations. In Monroe County, Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies opened an inquiry into reports of masked agents making a stop at a Key Largo polling place. Each of the two supervisors has taken a formal complaint to the FBI.
Under federal law, armed federal agents may not work in or near polling places unless force is needed against armed enemies of the country. At a statewide meeting of elections supervisors this summer, the FBI assured local officials there would be no immigration enforcement at the polls.
Section: More Tallahassee FL politics news
Filed under: Tallahassee FL Politics News
