An Onondaga County poll worker had an unexpected visit on Election Day from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as she was manning the Central Library polling site.
Paigelynn Gonyea has worked at county polling centers since 2023. When she went to the Central Library in downtown Syracuse, she noticed a phone call and text from a New Jersey area code.
"I called them back, told them where I was," she recalled it was around 5:00pm Tuesday when another call from the same number lit up her cell, "They called and said they were here and to come out and I said, 'I'm not coming out, but please, you know, come in.'"
She notified her boss, Election Commissioner Dustin Czarny who arrived too late to see the agents but said polling witnesses assured him there were no voters at the site when the agents stepped inside.
Therein lies the rub, it appears the agents violated state election laws that restrict only necessary people enter the polling centers while voting is in progress.
“Law enforcement or fire safety personnel would only be there if responding to an emergency, which does not seem to fit the billing of this incident," said Czarny, then added that he will leave that judgement, "in the capable hands of others to decide.”
In the meantime, he has flagged the Election Board and the Attorney General’s office and said he has heard the AG is reviewing the case.
As for the threat, Gonyea told WAER it appears they're focused on a social media post back on January 8, when Gonyea reposted a Minnesota Star Tribune article naming the ICE agent who shot Minneapolis mother Renee Good.
At the moment, Gonyea says she is speaking with two First Amendment legal teams, including the New York Civil Liberties Union. She is frank about her ability to fight the federal government.
"This is not about the money. This is about the principle and it’s bigger than me," Gonyea reminded anyone who will stop to listen. “This is to protect our First Amendment, not just my First Amendment."
She has set up a GoFundMe page to offset any legal fees she will incur fighting the federal government.
