RAVENNA, Ohio — A local election board in Ohio says the county sheriff’s office will not be used for election security after the sheriff said on social media that the addresses of people holding Kamala Harris signs should be recorded so immigrants could be sent to live there if the Democratic vice president wins the November election.

In a statement on the Portage County Democrats’ Facebook page, county election board chair Randi Clites said members voted 3-1 on Friday to strip the sheriff’s department of local mail-in voting security duties.

Clites cited public comments suggesting that “our sheriff is intimidating certain voters” and that it is necessary to “ensure that every voter in Portage County feels safe casting their ballot for the candidate of their choice.”

An article from the Ravenna Record-Courier on the Akron Beacon Journal website reported that a day earlier, about 150 people had gathered in a room at the Kent United Church of Christ for a meeting sponsored by the Portage County NAACP, and many of them expressed anguish over the Sept. 13 comments.

“I believe voters will be deterred from entering a polling place where a deputy is visible,” Clites said. The board is considering using the private security already stationed at the administration building or hiring Ravenna police to provide security, Clites said.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski posted a screenshot of a Fox News post criticizing President Joe Biden and Harris over immigration. He compared people living in the U.S. illegally to “human locusts” and suggested recording the addresses of people with Harris signs so that when migrants need housing, “we already have the addresses of their new families … who supported their arrival!”

Local Democrats filed complaints with the Ohio Secretary of State and other agencies, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio accused Zuchowski of making an unconstitutional “improper threat” against residents who plan to put up political campaign signs. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine called the comments “regrettable” and “unhelpful.” The Secretary of State’s office said the comments did not violate election laws and no action was planned.

Zuchowski, a Republican supporter of former President Donald Trump, said in a follow-up post last week that his comments had “perhaps been a little misunderstood??” But he said that while voters could choose who they wanted as president, they “need to take responsibility for their actions.”

A message seeking comment was sent Sunday to Zuchowski, who spent 26 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and worked part-time as a deputy sheriff before winning the top job in 2020. He is running for re-election as the county’s top law enforcement officer in northeast Ohio, about an hour outside of Cleveland.