A Honesdale voter has raised concerns about voter intimidation, specifically misleading get out the vote (GOTV) activities in Wayne County.

Wayne County resident Julia Wittich told Radio Catskill that she was on her way to submit a mail-in ballot application at the Wayne County Courthouse in Honesdale on Oct. 27 when she was approached by two individuals who gave her a ballot application outside the courthouse. She said she took it and began filling out her application.

“When I went to hand him back the board and pen, he was like, ‘Oh, can I just take a quick picture of your form? Because we need to show that we’re doing our work,’” said Widditch. She agreed and then went inside the courthouse to submit her mail-in ballot. 

It was only after Widditch exited the courthouse that she questioned why they needed to take the photo. When she asked the two GOTV workers for more information, they said it was for Scott Presler, a far-right conservative activist based in Pennsylvania.

Presler has previously been accused of violating campaign finance law by allegedly not disclosing his political action group, Early Vote Action’s, revenue sources. He’s also been accused of violating election laws by allowing several individuals to use his Pennsylvania address to register to vote.

Widditch said she was “very disturbed” by the interaction and that Early Vote Action now has her personal information, including her name, birthdate, and personal address.

Amy Christopher, Director of the Wayne County Bureau of Elections, confirmed that GOTV tents were set up outside the courthouse, but they’re limited in what they can do. Christopher said they were set up at least 10 feet away from the polling location’s entrance and not on county property.

Campaign workers, signs, and materials must be at least 10 feet away from the voting-room entrance, according to Pennsylvania state law.

“The organization that was holding this, I believe it was a voter registration mail-in ballot drive, has nothing to do with the Wayne County Board of Elections,” said Christopher.

Radio Catskill reached out to Early Vote Action for comment but did not hear back. According to Early Vote Action’s website, its mission is to “register Republican voters and get them committed to vote early, absentee, by mail, or on Election Day – by any means necessary!”

Kathy Boockvar, former Secretary of State of Pennsylvania and national election security leader, said the state doesn’t typically see large numbers of voter intimidation activity, but voter intimidation can look different across the state.

“It’s one of those things where it’s not a black-and-white, this is what it is, and this is what it isn’t,” said Boockvar. Still, she says voters should immediately report it even if they’re unsure if what they experienced or witnessed is voter intimidation. 

“They should not even wait to try to figure out [if] it meets the ground. If they feel like they’re being intimidated, threatened, or interfered with their right [to vote], I just suggest they call and report it,” said Boockvar.

Illegal voter intimidation activities include blocking polling place entrances or exits, making physical threats, and photographing, recording, or videotaping voters to intimidate them.

You can find examples of voter intimidation on the Pennsylvania Department of State website. Voters can report instances of voter intimidation to the appropriate county board of elections and district attorney or to the Department of State at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3722).