BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy Zellner says the Office of the New York State Attorney General is demanding “immediate” action by election officials regarding a video posted to Facebook.
While early voting took place in Erie County this past weekend, former County Legislator Betty Jean Grant shared a video of what she claimed was “voter intimidation.”
The message that accompanied the video read:
“The woman in the blue jacket is a private citizen who is being allowed by the polling inspectors to compromise the voting process. Why is she being allowed to tell a voter who to vote for? Why is she having contact with voters if she is not voting or she has finished voting. Why is she still in the room? She does not work for the Board of Elections. This is voter intimidation!”
Betty Jean Grant
MORE | Watch the video on Facebook here.
Zellner says Grant has been issued a letter, telling her she’s not allowed to come within 100 feet of any polling sites.
A letter is also being sent to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. They released the following statement:
“We are anticipating a letter from Board of Election commissioners asking our office to investigate the incident. While we have not received the letter yet, our office is looking into the matter.”
Erie County District Attorney’s Office
Early voting began on Saturday, less than two weeks ahead of Election Day — which is on November 2 this year.
MORE | More than 4,000 Erie County voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting
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Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.