An incident at a polling station in Orangeburg, South Carolina, involving an apparent Trump supporter who berated a group of Black female poll workers on Wednesday resulted in a state investigation.
The incident turned physical during early voting after a white man sporting a pro-Trump cap used expletives when told he could not wear the political paraphernalia. According to WIS News 10, the male voter wore a “Let’s Go Brandon” hat. The coded term is a known anti-President Joe Biden phrase for “F–k Joe Biden.”
When the man was told he could not wear the hat while voting and turned away at the polling station, he is heard calling a Black female poll worker a “f—king b–tch.” He then takes off the hat and points it toward another poll worker, and defiantly shouts, “This is my motherf—king right.”
Political or campaign apparel is barred at polling stations in 21 states, according to Democracy Docket. South Carolina law states that poll managers shall “use every reasonable means to keep the area within five hundred feet of any such entrance clear of political literature and displays.”
The incident in Orangeburg escalated further as the pro-Trump voter told the poll worker to “Shut the hell up and let me vote.” When he is still prevented from voting, he takes the hat off and tosses it to the ground by the feet of a woman recording the interaction.
After he is still refused at the polling desk, he appears to point in the face of another poll worker, also a Black female. The woman strikes the man, who then advances toward her. The poll workers, joined by two white female voters, attempt to retrain the man and remove him from the polling station. The video cuts off before the incident’s conclusion.
These amazing women in Orangeburg, followed the law and preserved the integrity of the election site. Kudos to them. Hopeful SCGOP and other collectively denounce the bullshit, pic.twitter.com/hwcnmboe3w
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) October 31, 2024
Christale Spain, chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, told theGrio that local party leaders informed her that the poll manager who struck the Trump voter was initially issued a “courtesy summons” for simple assault. However, the charge was later dismissed Thursday morning by the solicitor. Orangeburg Police Chief Charles Austin has referred the case to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate the altercation.
Spain said she was “shocked” and “disturbed” by how the election workers were treated. It was not lost on the party chairwoman that the incident involved a white man and a group of older Black women.
“To see someone resort to that type of aggression against a room full of women, there was no threat for him in that room. It’s upsetting to say the least,” she told theGrio.
Spain added, “Racism is alive and well in this country, and we’re in the South, and so those images are not new to us.”
A similar incident happened at a polling station last week in San Antonio, Texas, where a Trump voter punched an election worker who told him that he couldn’t wear a pro-Trump baseball cap. The man, identified as Jesse Lutzenberger, was arrested on felony charges for assaulting an elderly person, reported CBS News.
Chairwoman Spain said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Republicans – whom she called “MAGA extremists” have “emboldened their voters to behave this way.”
The Democrat added, “They don’t encourage civility, they don’t encourage respect.”
Though Harris almost certainly won’t win South Carolina’s nine electoral votes, Spain said Harris winning the presidential election would mean a lot for the state, where women are burdened by the impacts of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and South Carolina’s subsequent six-week abortion ban. The chairwoman said South Carolinians, more broadly, also don’t have access to affordable health care because the state has yet to expand Medicaid services.
“I just think that a win for Kamala Harris is probably one of the biggest wins for Democrats, especially in South Carolina,” said Spain. She added, “I believe that we can claw our way back.”
