A Riverside man is facing a felony charge after Hamilton County election officials said he took an electronic poll book on Election Day.
The 25-year-old is charged with “interference with conduct of election,” a charge which has not been used in Hamilton County in at least five years. The Enquirer is working to determine how frequently the charge has been used in the rest of Ohio.
According to police records, the incident took place at the Saylor Park Recreation Center where polling was taking place.
A 911 caller contacted police just before 10 a.m. to report that an “irate gentleman” was trying to leave with a computer. The person called again shortly after to say things had escalated.
“We need somebody right now,” the caller said. “He’s trying to leave with the voting thing, and he’s like throwing it. Really acting up. He wants to vote and he can’t because he doesn’t have proper stuff. He’s destroying equipment, throwing things, going after people. We definitely need help.”
Police records show he was arrested at 10:20 a.m. at the recreation center. Voting continued while the man was in a nearby classroom at the center “tearing it up.”
The arrest report indicates the man suffers from a mental illness.
The Board of Elections reported that the poll book was disabled remotely. Two other poll books were available for use at the time, officials said. A poll book is used to check in voters and does not contain information about how people voted.
The man was released from police custody Wednesday after his bond was posted. A Hamilton County grand jury is expected to hear the case by Nov. 15.
The man’s lawyer had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati man accused of taking election poll book faces felony
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