With federal immigration agents continuing to roam neighborhoods in California, and multiple instances where U.S. citizens have alleged they were mistakenly or wrongfully detained, some voters say they have apprehension about casting their ballot in person during the special election on redistricting.
For Latinos and others whose communities have been targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in recent months, the fear of running into ICE agents — even if they are in the country legally — is real.
According to a poll commissioned by the California-based Latino Community Foundation, 66% of the 1,200 registered Latino voters in California who were surveyed last month expressed concern that they might encounter an immigration enforcement action at a polling location during the special election.
Broken down by region, respondents who felt this way included 68% of those polled in Los Angeles County, 70% in the San Diego/Orange County region and 57% in the Inland Empire.
Additionally, 66% of all U.S.-born Latino voters surveyed also expressed concern.
“These are Latino voters. By definition, they are American citizens who are concerned about these folks,” said Christian Arana, vice president of civic power and policy for the Latino Community Foundation.
To be clear, state law prohibits voter intimidation.
Although a recent information bulletin issued by the California Attorney General’s Office did not specifically reference immigration enforcement, the document listed examples of voter intimidation, including “harassing or threatening behavior toward voters based on a person’s race (or) ethnicity” or “aggressively questioning voters about their citizenship.” Other examples included assaulting, threatening violence or being physically violent, brandishing a weapon or blocking the entrance or parking at a voting site.
“In the lead-up to the election and on Election Day, my office will be on call to provide assistance to the Secretary of State’s Office in enforcing California’s election laws, as needed, through a team of attorneys and administrative staff located across the state,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently said.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, California’s top elections official, said during a call with reporters this week that there are plans to have law enforcement officers and others available to be deployed to a scene if necessary to ensure voting spaces are free of intimidation.
That said, Weber suggested that few undocumented individuals are expected to show up to voting locations in the first place.
“We don’t have undocumented individuals registered to vote. … So the likelihood of people who are undocumented going to a polling place to vote is really quite rare,” Weber said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a message about whether it intends to station federal immigration agents near voting locations.
But earlier in the week, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that allegations that the department engages in racial profiling are “disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE.”
“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity,” the statement read. “Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests.”
Despite federal officials’ insistence that their immigration agents do not engage in racial profiling, some community members remain wary that even U.S. citizens could be detained by ICE agents as they make their way to a vote center.
In June, Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, was picked up as part of an immigration raid while on her way to work in downtown Los Angeles. (Federal officials alleged that Velez tried to block federal agents and impede their efforts during an immigration enforcement, an allegation that Velez denied.)
The following month, Army veteran George Retes, also a U.S. citizen, was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm.
Similar incidents have been reported in other states as well.
Weber noted this week that people have multiple options for casting their ballots.
Besides voting in person, a voter could drop off their completed ballot at a ballot drop box or a mailbox. (The Secretary of State’s Office recommends voting early if voting by mail. Due to U.S. Postal Service changes, in some parts of the state, ballots dropped off in mailboxes on Election Day won’t be guaranteed to be postmarked that same day. Instead, they might be postmarked the day after, which would be too late for the ballot to count.)
For voters who still wish to vote in person, local elections offices say they’re committed to ensuring that the upcoming election is carried out securely and free of intimidation.
Mike Sanchez, spokesperson for the L.A. County registrar’s office, said election workers are trained in situational awareness and de-escalation tactics so they can spot and report activity that may be intimidating or disruptive at a vote center or ballot drop box.
“Protecting voter access and safety is ingrained in every aspect of our operations,” Sanchez said.
“We will continue to monitor for any activity that could disrupt the voting process and take all necessary steps to ensure every eligible voter can cast their ballot safely and without interference,” he added.
Orange County Registrar Bob Page was asked during a Reddit event this week what county agencies are doing to guard against voter intimidation by bad actors posing as masked federal agents, or by actual federal agents on-site.
Page said law enforcement knows where all voting locations in the county are in case they need to respond quickly to a disruption.
In addition, he wrote in a post, a Sheriff’s deputy or sergeant is stationed in the registrar’s command center when vote centers are open to help triage reports and dispatch local police, and the county district attorney’s office has a team to respond quickly to issues like electioneering or voter intimidation.
“Finally,” Page said, “federal law … prohibits armed federal law enforcement activities at voting locations.”
The Riverside County registrar’s office had not received any public concerns about possible encounters with federal immigration agents. But, spokesperson Elizabeth Florer said in an email, the office “works with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure a safe, fair, and transparent election process.”
Some vote centers will open for early in-person voting starting Saturday, Oct. 25. To look up voting and ballot drop box locations in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside or San Bernardino counties, check out Southern California News Group’s special election voter guide online.
To report election misconduct, the public may call the secretary of state’s confidential voter hotline at 800-345-8683, email elections@sos.ca.gov or file an online voter complaint form.
SCNG’s Jeff Horseman and Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.