Political signs taped to ballot box in Lansing

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Lansing police are investigating after someone posted two signs with political messages on a ballot box in the city Thursday night.

Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope reported the incident as voter intimidation.

“The sign said ‘so the Democrats can cheat,’ and it was taped to the spot where a voter could drop off their ballot,” Swope said.

He says the signs were discovered Friday morning by city staff at the Foster Community Center. He viewed the video and reported the incident to police.

“It appeared to be an attempt to intimidate voters and discourage them from participating in the election by voting — their constitutional right in Michigan to vote by mail and drop it off at a ballot box,” Swope said.

Michigan right to vote requires city and municipal officials to report vandalism involving a voter drop box or suspicious activity near that location.

Although the signs have since been removed, Swope said these types of incidents are serious. He said the act did not appear to be an impulsive decision.

“They thought about it. They had the tape. They had the paper, they had the sign. It’s clear that they had the intention here not to let people vote, not to exercise their right to vote,” he said.

Swope said he supports people getting involved in elections and politics, but that there is a difference between expressing your own opinion and interfering with someone else’s.

“You can vote early. You can vote absentee. You can vote on Election Day and that is the individual right of the voter to choose how they want to vote,” Swope said.

Ryan Kost represents the 1^st district in the Lansing City Council, where the community center is located. He said any attempt to impede voting access is “unacceptable.”

“Such tactics are used by cowards and we do not tolerate them in Lansing and never will,” Kost said in an online post.

Swope said early voting starts on Sat. July 27, and runs through August 4. One of the early access locations is the Foster Community Center.