A Woodward Township resident had some serious questions concerning security at polling places for an Election Day in the midst of a contentious race for presidency.

During the public comment portion of a Lycoming County Election Board meeting, Bill Fenderson asked the board if there was anything in place in case there were incidents at polling sites. He claimed there were already problems locally, as well as in other counties he had contacted.

“It’s plain stupidity. Some of these people are acting like little kids,” Fenderson said.

“The problem I have is we know that this county is geographically extremely large … What if something dramatic happened?” Fenderson asked the board. “Do we have a plan that covers us? And I know darn well we don’t. If you do, it’s the best kept secret in the state of Pennsylvania.”

Lehman responded to Fenderson’s concerns.

“With respect to the security in our polling places, there is a security posture. I understand there are some folks out there who wish that there was more security. It sounds like the question really is, why don’t we have security at our facilities? And the problem with that request is that the election code expressly forbids posting police officers at precincts. We simply cannot do that under the state election code,” Lehman said.

“If there are folks who think it should be different, they can pursue that with state legislators. They can pursue an alteration. But currently, the only peace officer that is permitted to be out at the polls on election day is an elected constable. We have some precincts where there is an elected constable. There are some where there is not. We do have these conversations periodically with the poll workers where, if they identify someone who is willing to serve as constable, there are ways to get someone appointed into that office even in the middle of their six-year term, but that is the only proactive, preventative security that we are permitted to put in place at a precinct,” he added.

Lycoming County Chief Clerk Matthew McDermott pointed out that there are law enforcement capabilities placed strategically throughout the county to deal with issues if they arise.

“The county has resources that we are able to position in different parts of the county that might be able to respond more rapidly to a polling place. We do instruct the poll workers that if they are concerned about anything, call 911 first, ask questions later,” Lehman said.

“I can also assure the public that state level law enforcement is well aware of Election Day. There are plans that are put into place in advance for State Police coverage, knowing where polling facilities are in advance. And so there are plans that are made, but it can’t go right up to the point where we’re going to put a police officer at the precinct. That’s a bridge too far. It’s not permitted by the election code,” he added.

In conducting regular business, Commissioners Marc Sortman and Mark Mussina along with McDermott were sworn in as the election board by Lehman. Commissioner Scott Metzger was absent.

The board approved election day worker assignments.

“This is just a listing of all the people who are involved and where they’ll be, and it’s a long list,” Lehman said. “We have a lot of people in the county that come together to make the election work.”

Approval was also given to local election board vacancies.

“These are cases where we need to make sure that we have someone in the position of Judge of Elections and Inspector of Elections at the various precincts,” Lehman said.

“This would be to approve those appointments so that those election boards are staffed,” he added.

These involved cases where someone may not have been elected to the office, or they got elected and somebody resigned early, Lehman said.

The Board of Elections will also be meeting at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Commissioners’ Board Room, 3rd floor, Third Street Plaza, 33 W. Third St. According to the agenda, the board is scheduled to hear and decide 71 challenges filed against absentee ballots cast for federal offices by U.S. citizens residing overseas.