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Residents dispute board’s Parkside polling-place relocation; public commenters call for reversal
Summary
Public commenters at the Delaware County Board of Elections meeting disputed accusations made at an earlier meeting about conduct at the Parkside Firehouse polling place and urged the board to reverse last meeting’s 2–1 relocation decision and apologize to poll workers.
At a public-comment portion of the Delaware County Board of Elections meeting, multiple residents challenged claims made at an earlier meeting about the Parkside polling place and urged the board to reverse a recent decision to relocate the precinct from the Parkside Firehouse to an elementary school.
Joy Schwartz of Upper Darby Township told the board that on April 11 a petition from about 24 Parkside residents asked that publicly owned locations be prioritized over private sites such as the firehouse. Schwartz said activists at that meeting made "inflammatory accusations," including a claim that African Americans were doused with a fire hose and that a bench was moved to disadvantage vulnerable voters. "The Parkside poll workers deserve a reversal and an apology from the 2 Democrats on this board," Schwartz said.
Schwartz said she later received a message from a constable who was present at the firehouse, who told her on the record that "the fire truck was not washed that day. No black people were sprayed. The bench was moved because it was in the heating door," and that poll workers were sharing Wawa iced tea, not alcoholic beverages.
Schwartz said that if there were civil-rights violations, the accusers should file a lawsuit so evidence can be heard in court and suggested the League of Women Voters could assist. She also criticized board member Scott Alberts's role in arguing for the accusers at the prior meeting, saying: "Mr. Albert should not be making a case for the accusers." A different board member later praised Alberts's service to the county.
The transcript indicates the board previously voted 2–1 at the prior meeting to change the polling place; the attendees at this meeting raised questions about the evidence supporting that relocation and the suitability of the elementary school as a polling site.
No board action reversing the relocation was taken at this meeting; the public comments were recorded as part of the meeting's public-comment period.
