Polling Places in Northern California College Town Are Vandalized

Four polling places in the Northern California town of Arcata were vandalized on the eve of Election Day with messages reading, “No election, insurrection” and “Genocide is not a ‘lesser’ evil.”

Photos also showed flyers pasted onto community center windows with “Free Palestine” and other messages. Blocks away, the local Cal Poly Humboldt campus has been the site of ongoing pro-Palestinian protests and activism for months.

Arcata Mayor Meredith Matthews said she got a call at 6:45 a.m. from someone at the Humboldt County Office of Elections reporting that vandals had spray-painted messages and glued signs outside the city’s community center and three grocery stores that contain ballot drop boxes.

“I take all of this vandalism extremely seriously, especially on Election Day,” Matthews said. “I think Election Day is sacred.”

Security cameras at the Murphy’s market in the Westwood Village shopping center captured four masked individuals at 12:30 a.m. The Arcata Police Department is investigating the incidents, Matthews said. She said she hadn’t heard about any incidents of voter intimidation.

The local Cal Poly campus has also been the site of repeated vandalism, Matthews said. Campus spokesperson Aileen Yoo said the university cannot speculate about whether the incidents are connected, but officials urged people to call campus police if they have any information about the suspects.

Police are also still trying to identify an individual who is wanted for throwing paint on people at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University Quad on Oct. 7, Yoo said.

By early afternoon on Election Day, workers had removed the graffiti from the side of the community center. At the Murphy’s markets, the signs had been mostly scraped off or taped over.

“I’m just appalled that this vandalism happened not only on Election Day but at our Cal Poly Humboldt,” Matthews said, referring to earlier incidents at the campus. “It’s just too much. It needs to stop.”