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At a time when most Americans are worried about election integrity, Paul Heroux says he’s committed to doing his job as Bristol County sheriff.
In election terms, that means not doing much at all — sheriffs in Massachusetts are mainly responsible for running prisons and jails, and they have no direct role in elections.
Still, Heroux said he recently signed onto a nationwide sheriffs’ pledge to support “free and fair elections” because he’s concerned about President Donald Trump’s administration intimidating voters, particularly through immigration enforcement at or near polling places. The pledge also criticizes other sheriffs around the country for spreading claims of voter fraud and interfering in the ballot counting process.
“I am staying in my lane, and I encourage other sheriffs to also stay in their lane,” Heroux said in a phone interview with The Light. “And staying in their lane means doing only what we are legally allowed to do, per the Constitution.”
Unless local election officials specifically ask for his office’s help with security details, the sheriff said he plans to take no part in local elections this November.
The pledge is being backed by Workers’ Circle, a Jewish social justice advocacy group, and Sheriff Accountability Action, a North Carolina-based organization that advocates for criminal justice reforms.
Two other sheriffs have signed on, according to a public relations representative for Workers’ Circle: Sean Casey of Alexandria, Virginia, and Danny Ceisler of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The pledge is a response to sheriffs who have used their public positions to spread and investigate debunked claims of voter fraud. These actions exceed a sheriff’s authority and undermine confidence in elections, the pledge says.
It points to a former sheriff in Kansas who used hundreds of staff hours and $88,000 in taxpayer funds to investigate voting irregularities, which resulted in no criminal charges, and another sheriff in California who seized over 650,000 ballots; that state’s supreme court is now weighing whether the sheriff should be ordered to return them.
“We have an obligation to counter this harmful movement,” the pledge says.
Sheriffs should take no proactive role in elections and should instead leave those duties to election officials, according to the pledge. While sheriffs can provide law enforcement at polling locations, it says, that should only come “at the request of trained election officials to address credible concerns.”
Sheriffs who sign the pledge commit to not undermine confidence in elections, interfere with the counting of ballots, or obstruct peaceful transfer of power.
The pledge also says sheriffs should not allow ICE agents at polling locations or in the “surrounding neighborhood.” The Trump administration has pushed back on concerns that it would target polling locations for immigration enforcement, though it hasn’t committed to a total ban.
▸ Read the nationwide sheriffs’ pledge
Michael A. Colwell, deputy director of the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association, wrote to The Light in an email that the organization has no stance on this issue, but it respects each sheriff’s right to assert their own opinion.
“While the Commonwealth’s Sheriffs share many responsibilities and work collaboratively on matters of public safety, each Sheriff applies their own principles, experience, and philosophy in determining what best serves the distinct needs and interests of the communities they are elected to represent,” Colwell wrote.
Heroux worries about ICE intimidation chilling upcoming elections
The Bristol County sheriff said he signed the pledge because his constituents are worried about interference in this November’s election.
Immigration enforcement is a particular concern, he said, because areas like New Bedford have large populations of immigrants, including naturalized citizens who plan to exercise their right to vote. Heroux said those voters may be intimidated by immigration agents because of widespread news reports about ICE detaining U.S. citizens.
“I am concerned about the president directing ICE agents to be unrequested election monitors, because the president does not have any enabling authority to do that,” he said.
Trump’s Department of Justice has already targeted New Bedford this election cycle with official election monitors, citing New Bedford’s population of “limited-English proficient” Hispanic eligible voters.
Heroux, an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, has had high-profile clashes with ICE — though he said he would have signed the pledge either way.
The sheriff limits what information his office shares with immigration authorities, The Light reported earlier this year. Federal immigration officials have blasted Heroux for releasing inmates instead of holding them at the request of ICE. The sheriff has fired back, calling ICE a “bad law enforcement partner” and saying state law required him to release the inmates.
Still, Heroux made one point that Trump would agree with.
“Only registered U.S. citizens should be voting,” Heroux said. “I’m not trying to create some gray area where we can have people who are undocumented or immigration violators come in and vote.”
Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org
