Monroe County Elections Chief Investigating Video of Apparent Armed Federal Agents Outside Keys Early Voting Site

Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies says her office is investigating after video taken outside one of the county's early voting sites appeared to show armed federal agents, an episode that set off a wave of frightened calls from Florida Keys voters in the first days of early voting for the Nov. 3 general election. Hodies told WPLG Local 10 that her office is trying to determine whether what happened was a traffic stop that happened to take place outside the polling place, or whether it was intentional.

The video surfaced days after a separate security scare at the county's Big Pine Key early voting site, where a resident found a door unlocked with voting equipment inside. Hodies replaced the tabulators and electronic voter identification equipment at that site, and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office is investigating. Taken together, the two episodes have put an unusual spotlight on election administration in a county of island communities strung along a single highway.

What the video shows and what is known

Local 10 reported on Tuesday, Oct. 20, that video taken outside a Monroe County early voting site shows what appear to be armed federal agents. The station's report did not identify which of the county's five early voting sites was involved, when the video was recorded or what the people in it were doing there.

Hodies said the moment led to a flurry of calls to her office, and she did not hide her frustration.

"I'm not happy about it. Frankly, I was stunned about it. It's hard to take these phone calls from voters who are frightened. Their voices are shaking. What is going on?"

Local 10 said it had reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection about the incident and had not heard back by the time its story was published. As of Wednesday, The Florida Press had found no public statement from CBP or any other federal agency explaining the encounter. It has not been confirmed which agency the people in the video work for, whether anyone was stopped or detained, or whether the activity had anything to do with the voting site.

A routine federal presence in the Keys

Federal border and immigration agents are a regular presence in the Florida Keys, where the U.S. Border Patrol operates a station and agents respond when migrants from Cuba and Haiti come ashore. CBS News Miami has reported on landings in Key West in which migrants were taken into federal custody. That backdrop is part of the reason Hodies has framed her review around a narrow question: whether the scene was an ordinary enforcement stop on a public road that happened to unfold outside a polling place, or something aimed at the site itself.

The episode lands amid national concern about immigration enforcement near the polls during the midterm elections. The Department of Homeland Security has said that ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations, according to a statement reported by The Center Square. That statement addressed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not CBP, which oversees the Border Patrol, and it predates the Monroe County video.

What Florida and federal law say about officers at the polls

Florida law limits law enforcement inside polling places. Under section 102.101, Florida Statutes, a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, special officer appointed under section 102.091 "or any other officer of the law" is "not allowed within a polling place without permission from the clerk or a majority of the inspectors," except to cast his or her own ballot. If an officer does not comply, the statute says "the clerk or the inspectors must make an affidavit against the officer for his or her arrest."

The state statute governs officers entering the polling place itself. It does not, on its own terms, bar law enforcement activity on a public road nearby, which is why the location and purpose of the agents' activity matter to Hodies' inquiry.

Federal law adds another layer. A Civil War era statute, 18 U.S.C. 592, makes it a crime for a federal officer or other person in the civil, military or naval service of the United States to order, bring, keep or control troops or armed men at any place where a general or special election is held, unless force is needed to repel armed enemies of the United States. Violations carry up to five years in prison and disqualification from federal office. Whether either law has any bearing on the Monroe County video depends on facts that have not yet been established.

The separate Big Pine Key security incident

The video came on the heels of a different problem at the Big Pine Key Community Park early voting site. On Saturday, Oct. 17, a resident found the site's door unlocked, with voting equipment inside and unattended, and alerted Hodies and a county parks employee, the Key West Citizen reported.

Hodies went to the site and said the machines had not been tampered with. She nonetheless announced that the site's voting tabulators and electronic voter identification systems would be replaced. On Sunday, Oct. 18, her staff ran logic and accuracy testing on reserve tabulators kept at her Key West office, with the testing supervised by the Monroe County Canvassing Board, according to the Citizen. County facilities staff then moved the replacement machines to Big Pine Key under her supervision, and she met with sheriff's deputies and county staff to add security at the location.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is investigating how the door came to be unlocked. No findings had been made public as of Wednesday.

Where Keys voters can cast early ballots

Early voting in Monroe County began Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 31, according to Local 10's early voting guide. Florida's mandatory statewide early voting period runs from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31, and counties may open sooner. Hodies announced five early voting sites:

What's next

Hodies' office is continuing to look into the video, and CBP had not publicly responded to Local 10's questions as of Wednesday. The sheriff's investigation into the unlocked door at Big Pine Key is also ongoing. Voters with questions about either incident, or about their polling place, can contact the Monroe County Supervisor of Elections office in Key West. Early voting continues daily through Oct. 31, and polls open for Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.