CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — The Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office is increasing security at early voting locations for the final week of voting after multiple heated arguments broke out.
Deputies are now positioned at both the Central Library and North Courthouse Road Library.
The decision was made jointly by the sheriff and the registrar, without a request from any political party.
"People were starting to get very vocal about their personal opinions evoking their opinions over the opinions of others. Nothing got to the point where anything was criminal, but that's what we are trying to prevent by being proactive here," Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard said. "When it starts interrupting the flow of other people coming to vote it's concerning to us. We want to have an environment where anyone can come vote on either sides of the argument. And we want them to have access to carry out their civic duty."
Leonard said the deputies will serve as a visible presence to reassure voters and will not interfere with voters, volunteers, or traffic.
"We have seen the escalation of these encounters since last Saturday that it's better now to go ahead and put these deputies in position before it escalates more," he said. "We're just staying aside. We just want to be seen, and if anything does happen, they are right there to address it."
The county last used this approach when President Donald Trump first ran for office in 2016, following similar reports of heated exchanges at polling sites.
The added security comes at a cost and stretches the department's resources.
"So we are stretched right now doing this but we feel like it's worth the investment so we can assure a safe polling place so everyone can carry out their civic duty," Leonard said.
Both the Central Library and the North Courthouse Road Library polling sites are open through Saturday, which is the final day for early voting.
Voters will decide April 21 whether to adopt a Democratic-drawn congressional map that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats.
Virginia is the latest state to push a partisan redistricting plan before the 2026 midterms, when Democrats are looking to gain the House majority and the power it would give them to stymie President Trump’s agenda.
Virginia's map aims to give Democrats the edge in 10 of the state's 11 U.S. House districts, replacing the current map that elected a congressional delegation with six Democrats and five Republicans.
Trump instigated a redistricting arms race last year when he pressed Texas Republicans to adopt new boundaries aimed at giving Republicans as many as five new House seats there. California voters responded with a plan favoring Democrats. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted Republican-friendly maps.
Democrats in Maryland this week rejected a plan to adopt a map favoring their party, while Florida Republicans are pressing ahead with their own redistricting plan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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