Lee County Probate Judge Bill English told 1819 News that there would be "no punishment" for the Lee County chief poll inspector accused by multiple people of harassing and intimidating voters for donning attire supporting President-Elect Donald Trump while attempting to vote during Tuesday's general election.
Multiple Lee County residents contacted 1819 News Tuesday, detailing stories of chief poll inspector Sharon Braswell badgering voters at the Opelika Sportsplex.
Several claimed Braswell threatened people with arrest, threatened to physically remove voters' MAGA hats, escorted a man's daughter to the bathroom to turn her Trump-Vance sweatshirt inside out and forced a woman out of the polling location.
After reporting the two initial stories, Lee County Resident Danielle Moncrief contacted 1819 News, relaying her experience with Braswell.
"[W]hen we went to vote, [Braswell] approached us and commented on our 4 small children's shirts," Moncrief wrote in a message. "They had all chosen funny shirts to wear in support of Trump. Following her comments to our children she then GRABBED the bill of my hat saying, "If you had been here with this 35 minutes ago, I would've made you take it off!"
"I asked her why and she said, 'Because I've been making people turn their shirts inside out and take their hats off. One man told me he wasn't doing it so I called the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff said 'Let them wear it!' so I can't do anything about it now.'
"She let my hat go at that point, but while turning to walk away she commented on the number of children we have and in a negative tone said 'Ma'am, you just have a real nice next 10 years of your life.' I felt as though she was attempting to humiliate me in front of everyone there and the aggressive physical behavior I experienced was frightening."
An employee from English's office told 1819 News the judge would investigate the matter personally. Secretary of State Wes Allen's office directed 1819 News to English's office when asked if Allen was aware of the situation.
On Wednesday, English told 1819 News that he had received multiple official complaints of Braswell's behavior.
"I've gotten some written complaints; I'm not really sure how many; I think three or four," English said. "I know one voter came in and filled one out, and another sent one by email; I haven't compiled all that yet. We're still, as you can imagine, still digging out from yesterday, But it apparently did occur, and she is the chief inspector at that precinct. I'm not positive who did it. I've had a report it was [Braswell]. I know that they were instructed in the school that we cannot make voters remove attire, and apparently, she missed that lesson."
When asked if Braswell would be punished for her behavior, English said that would be for his successor on the appointing board to decide.
"We won't have another election until 2026, and the new judge will be the one to make that call," English continued. "There's no outcome. There's no punishment. We don't do things like that. We'll report it in our reporting and store it, but the appointing board will have to make the call on her two years from now."
Several of those who spoke to 1819 News said they intended to file complaints against Braswell and were seeking to access the security camera footage at the Sportsplex to validate their complaints.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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