Many Americans will find on their November ballot a space to vote for an important office: local sheriff. While there are exceptions, sheriffs have a long history of using their power to maintain a particular, unequal balance of power in society, often along racial and class lines.
A recent example of this arose on Sept. 13, when Bruce Zuchowski, sheriff of Portage County, Ohio, posted a message on a Facebook page headed by a graphic that included his official portrait and which was labeled with his official title . Zuchowski called for the public to write down the addresses of people who have campaign signs supporting Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in their yards.
That way, he said, when immigrants arrive and need housing, “We’ll already have the addresses of the … families … who supported their arrival.”
The post, which Zuchowski later claimed appeared on his “personal Facebook page,” used derogatory terms for immigrants and for Harris. It also included screenshots of two Fox News stories about migrants in Aurora, Colo., and Springfield, Ohio, which are both places that former President Donald Trump , the Republican nominee, and his running mate JD Vance have falsely claimed to be sites of dangerous activity by immigrants.