ATLANTA—A poll worker says she was removed from a polling site in Johns Creek, Georgia.
Laura Kronen told The Epoch Times that she was told the removal was because of recent Twitter posts, but she suspects they removed her because she’s politically conservative.
“We did everything we were supposed to do. We went to our pep rally on Sunday night for the coworker people. And then we showed up this morning at 5 a.m. To begin our poll working, we opened up all the polls, we opened up all the poll pads, we did everything we’re supposed to be doing shortly before the polls were about to open,” she said.
Before voting started, Kronen says official J. Campbell O'Keeffe told her that she had been removed from her post and needed to leave.
Kronen says O'Keeffe at first refused to provide a reason but then told her that she had been removed over two Twitter posts she had written in the past few days.
“I’m a conservative, I was a Trump supporter, and I think that they did not want that there,” Kronen said.
In a press conference at 7 p.m. on election night, Williams told the Epoch Times that Kronen and her son weren’t fired over her tweet today about keeping the election free and fair.
Williams said that Kronen had been removed because of “a concern.” But she refused to describe the nature of those concerns.
“The safety of the election was our concern. But it’s still under investigation,” she said.
Another reporter noted that Kronen had tweeted about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. In one tweet, she calls the investigation of Jan. 6 “a big flop.”
In another tweet, Kronen wrote she saw the event, but didn’t see anyone enter the Capitol building.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, which stated that voting personnel decisions are at the county’s discretion.
Pushed From the Poll
At first, Kronen says the official couldn’t explain why she had been removed from polls.
“He started making phone calls and phone calls, and nobody could figure out why I was being kicked out,” she said. “Finally, somebody said, ‘It’s because of a tweet she put this morning.’”
Kronen made a post on Twitter four minutes after 5 a.m. and before polls opened.
Her post read: “Good morning! My son and I have arrived at our polling location in Fulton County to help make sure there is a free and fair election!”
Kronen said the purpose of poll-watching is to make sure elections are fair.
“Isn’t that what we’re doing here? Like, we’re going to make sure there’s a free and fair election,” she said. “And they said it didn’t matter. ‘You are not allowed.’”
On Nov. 3, Kronen posted on Twitter that she was concerned about election integrity and advised her followers to keep watch for corruption.
“The only explanation for why the Democrats and all of social media is pushing the ‘election results will be delayed for a few days’ story is because they have to figure out ways to cheat,” she wrote. “Stay alert! Report everything you see! Take videos of anything that you think might be shady.”
Fulton County official Nadine Williams told her over the phone that this Twitter post was a reason for her to leave the poll.
“Anyone can say anything they want leading up to an election,” she told Williams over the phone, according to a video she provided to The Epoch Times.
Williams hung up.
According to Kronen, poll officials didn’t explain why they removed her son.
“He did absolutely nothing. He was a witness. And he’s 17 years old,” she said.
Kronen noted that other poll workers didn’t seem bothered by her expulsion.
“I’m pretty certain by the reaction from the people that they did not share my political beliefs,” she said. “They just all stared and stood back. And they didn’t say a word, not a word to me or my child.”
Outside the polling site, Kronen said she talked with and recorded police officers, who she says were sympathetic to her statement that she had been removed over her political beliefs.
“I can definitely see that,” a man says in a recording she provided.
In a pep rally for election workers, Kronen said workers sang that “there ain’t no stopping us now” and said that “all eyes are on Georgia.” She wrote an email to the election workers’ group asking, “What kind of history are we making Tuesday?”
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