 We're here to talk about the importance of our collective efforts to make sure that and reassure all voters in Richland County and assure anyone who may be considering engaging in mischief. Let them know that authority is working together to reinforce the democratic norms of this great republic. The fact that that the right to vote is sacrosanct in this great country and that we're going to be working together very clear to make sure that there will be no voter intimidation, no voter suppression at the polls on November 3rd. This effort will be nonpartisan. And let me so let me be clear. If you want to vote for President Trump, or Vice President Biden, or the Libertarian Green or Alliance Party candidates on the ballot, it is your right and we will defend that right. In a democracy is essential that every eligible vote must be counted and that the will of the people must prevail. In the age in which we're living right now, the greatest pandemic since 1918, the greatest economic disruption and election year since 1932, the greatest social unrest around systemic issues of inequity and race since 1968 is imperative that in 2020 that we make sure our voters don't have anything else to worry about. So these gentlemen behind me work hard every single day to represent the interests of all of our voters across Richland County. So this message is to the 271,321 voters in this great county at every single one of the precincts of 150 of them. We understand your role in serving as a constant architects of this great nation at which we've all inherited and we much preserve it. The way we do that is by ensuring fair and equitable access to the polls and that anyone anyone who who dares to interfere with our citizens right to the ballot, they will be dealt with clearly and harshly under the laws of the state and this country. So I'm going to pass the microphone. We got a good runner show to my friend, the chairman of Richland County Council, Paul Livingston. Good afternoon. It is our intent this afternoon to ensure the citizens of Richland County. That is, it is our intent to have a safe election for all citizens of Richland County, the city of Columbia, regardless of whom party you affiliate with. You know, the protection of your right to vote. It's the most sacred thing that I think we can do as a Republic. And that is what we intend to do. You know, what's important about this too is, is this collaborative effort. It's clear that that amount doesn't matter whether in the city or incorporated in Richland County, you'll be treated the same because you can have law enforcement working together collectively as we continue to do. I don't have a whole lot to say other than that. And make sure you listen to the person who are really here to speak to you. And that is our law enforcement. And I was solicitor to talk a little bit about what the laws are and what to expect when you go to the polls and making sure that you feel as safe as possible to cash your vote for whomever you choose to do so. So again, thanks very much. Good afternoon, Mayor Benjamin. And to all who stand behind me today and those in front of me as well. The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights available to American citizens. It was a right that our forefathers and foremothers often fought for and sometimes even died for. And it's evidenced by the 15th amendment of the Constitution, which was ratified back in 1870, which prohibits state and federal laws from denying the right to vote based on race or color. It's evidenced by the 19th amendment, which prohibited the denial of one's access to vote based on sex. And it was even again, spoken about and ratified in the 26th amendment, which extended the right to vote to those the age of 18 or older. The right to vote is a fundamental tenet of our democracy. And it's one that we intend to protect. And all of those all of us standing here today intend to protect. So as we fast forward to 2020, I stand before you and all who will listen to let you know that voter intimidation and voter suppression will not be tolerated in Columbia, Richland County or the Fifth Circuit. This is a show of solidarity by all of us standing here as a reminder that all of us believe that there should be safe and fair elections that are free from the threat of intimidation and the free and free from the threat of folks messing with those who are standing in line waiting to vote and to exercise their right to democracy. And let me remind you this is a nonpartisan effort, but it's a warning to all of those who would seek to disrupt or to unfairly influence our democracy by intimidating voters that they should expect to be prosecuted. And if found guilty of this class e felony of intimidating voters or trying to threaten voters, they could face up to 10 years in jail and define in the discretion of the court. But let me be clear, November 3rd should be a celebration. It should be a celebration of our democracy. It should be a celebration of us exercising our right to vote as we allow our vote to be our voice. But understand that those of you who attempt to impinge you on the right to vote, there will be a consequence. So I say to you, exercise your right to vote. Let your vote be your voice. But understand that here in Columbia, Richland County and the fifth circuit, you can do that safely. And you can do that understanding that the people who are standing with me and behind me are all for safe elections, fair elections, free of intimidation and threats. Thank you. Chief Holbrooke and I are standing here together because we're working as a team to make sure that this election on November 3rd have no problems. And I want to reassuring everybody out there, we haven't had any indications that we're going to have any problems. So this press conference is not because we've received any information that there's threats or voter intimidation. We're just standing here because we want to make sure that people understand that. Yes, I've gotten some calls I'm adding chief has to particularly from senior citizens, just a little bit worried, we want to assure them that for the first time, probably we were actually working with the elections commission to make sure that our traffic is flowing good. People are standing in line and not being harassed or intimidated. We're actually working a plan now with the election commission to make sure that these things don't happen. We can have deputies or officers stand at polling places that is against the law for a uniform officer to be there. However, we're going to be on a very short leash to get there very quickly. If the poll manager and poll workers indicate to us that there's any problems, we'll be able to respond. But at this point, we don't have any indication there's going to be any problems. What we're encouraging people to do is go vote early. If you don't want to stand in line on November the 3rd, go vote early. A lot of people have been voting early and we've had absolutely no problems whatsoever. People have been standing in line. They have not been intimidated not been harassed. They've been able to cast a vote. But we're here. We're going to have our officers ready. We have a plan in place that where we're going to have people ready to respond if need be. I hope we don't need to be called. I don't think we will. But if necessary, we will respond as the solicitor indicated. The charges are very serious and we will make sure that those people get prosecuted. But again, we want everybody to exercise that right. A lot of people have fought and died to have the right to vote. We want people to go out and vote and not be afraid to vote. So as a team, the Sheriff's Department City, Columbia Police Department, we're working very closely to make sure that everybody's safe on Election Day. Thank you, Sheriff. There's not a whole lot I can add to that other than to reassure our citizens that we we were planning for this collaborating with the Election Commission with each other. We're staffing accordingly so we can be able to respond quickly and you know and no verifiable threats at this point and that's you know what we expect from our citizens is what we see all the time. You know responsible actions and treating each other with respect and I don't have any doubt that that's that's what we're gonna have. There's lots of different polling locations. We know that some are more easily accessible than others. We know that we may have our work cut out force and some of the more populated areas where we have may have some traffic concerns and we're going to be ready to to address those immediately. We would ask our citizens to be patient and be respectful to one another but be patient. We know it's going to be a big turnout. You know, it has to work election and we're going to be there to support. We know safety is of the utmost importance but the perception and everybody feels safe is equally important. We're going to make sure that happens when you talk about cyber crimes and I don't want to get too technical here but as you talk about cyber crimes, any of those that are federal will be looked at under federal jurisdiction. If something crosses into my jurisdiction, which is Richland, Kershaw County, with the Fifth Circuit, then we will deal with those matters and we'll deal with them swiftly. There's a certain set of rules that all poll watchers are supposed to put. You know, there's a training that they go through and there's a set of rules that apply specifically to what they do and so if they're in violation of those rules, then we'll have to speak to them about those rules. That may be slightly different than a voter suppression or intimidation but if they cross the line, then we're going to have to look at that and again, we'll deal with it swiftly. There is zero tolerance for any type of suppression or intimidation for anybody voting. I mean, our forefathers have fought and mothers have fought way too hard for that right to allow somebody to come in and try to turn back the hands of time to different questions and different tactics that can be used oftentimes. But again, we've not seen that yet and we're praying that we won't but we're standing, we're ready if we do see those things to act and act swiftly. We can only deal with the real threats that we know of in real time so if there are threats that we're hearing about, of course all of us, you know, we're aware, you know, there's nothing as Mayor Benjamin said that is going on that we're not aware of but we can't allow those who are attempting to scare us and to do things to scare us. We can't allow that to prevent us from exercising our right to vote. Again, your vote is your voice and so it's sad that we're in a time when we have to consider those things again, that we have to deal with those things again. It's sad that we have to but again, we have to vote. That's the way that you speak and you allow others to know where you stand. You allow this, you know, all of us as elected officials, you let us know where you stand, what you will and won't tolerate and that's where we have to speak. So I'm sure that, you know, sure if Lide and Chief Holbrook are aware and their own point if those threats become real, they're here and they're here to handle those things if necessary but they should speak to those a little bit more in depth. My role is going to be different than theirs. Specifics of how they're going to operationalize our response. This election is different than in previous elections. Times are very different. Back to the other question, we're not obviously here speaking about garden variety violations of election law rules by those who may be advocating for the candidates of their choice. There's a process in place, poll managers and poll workers are trained to respond to those issues. They're articulated fairly clearly under Sovereign Code 7-2580 on as what can be done and cannot be done under our state law. They're easy to find. There are some, they're not as easy to find as it relates to a conversation between the sheriff and chief and I just the other day as it relates to those of us who may have concealed weapons permits. Concealed weapons permits do not allow you to bring a weapon into a polling place on election day. And that's something that obviously may not be explicitly clear to a number of our citizens who, hundreds of thousands who very responsibly use their right to bear arms by seeking a concealed weapons permit. Your weapon is not allowed into a polling place on election day. So we're seeing a heightened level of dialogue and communication because of the times that we live in where we know the voter suppression, the voter intimidation is quite real and maybe more evident and obvious than it has been in previous years. And we believe that when you have those situations is that much more important to dialogue regularly. I can let the chief and the sheriff speak as to how they're going to operationalize. I don't want anyone to be under the impression that on election day the only thing that these two, the two of the best peace officers the country has, they're going to be involved only in election day activities. They're going to be outside of the polling places, literally all across the community enforcing the laws that make this the greatest democratic nation in the history of the world. You know, I don't think there's any denying that this is probably one of the most polarizing and divisive times and at least in my lifetime. We know that there is nothing normal about these last few months. We've, you know, ever since April when we've transitioned through into this national health crisis is this pandemic posture. And then into some of the civil unrest matters that we've dealt with through the summer. It's just a it's a very different time and we've learned a lot in a short period of time. But one of the things that has been constant is collaboration, cooperation, communication. We know that we, you know, as they say, plan for the worst, but hope for the best and expect the best. And that's exactly how we're approaching this. We never talk numbers, but what we are reiterating is that we are communicating not only with each other, but throughout the state with our other sheriffs and chiefs, the state law enforcement division. We are very much paying attention to intelligence, not only at the state and local level, but at the national level. We talk frequently about that and how that may affect here. So there's there's nothing that we're not considering. But most importantly, our citizens have to, you know, have to know that we are fully staffed and prepared to respond in a moment's notice. But we're not going to allow, you know, this perception of anything being unsafe or unsafe or allow disturbances to occur. And if they do occur, we're going to be quick to respond to make sure we can, you know, mediate and make sure people are making their votes count. A couple small things that we don't want to turn big is just making sure the traffic control is there. Things that we haven't worried about in the past, but we know there's going to be a lot of voters. We saw it in June with traffic issues. So we're addressing that before the election, not waiting until that day or that evening to have deputies out there. So we're getting with the Richland County election people. We're going to look at traffic control and also so simple as having lights turned on. We saw that voting went to almost 12 midnight back in June and some of our parks and schools didn't have the outside lights on. So we're addressing that. So little things like that, we've never planned before, but we're looking at those now and making plans. I think you'll find out that this election is probably going to go smoother than any that we've had. Large turnout, but we're going to be a whole lot better prepared.