Poll worker jailed after allegedly choking voter

Dispute over whether man has to cast ballot in judicial race boils over in Ky.

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updated 8:20 p.m. ET Nov. 7, 2006

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A poll worker was arrested Tuesday and charged with assault and interfering with an election for allegedly choking a voter and pushing him out the door, officials said.

It apparently started as a dispute between the two over marking the ballot, said Lt. Col. Carl Yates of the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.

The voter told poll worker Jeffery Steitz that he didn’t want to vote in a judicial election because he didn’t know enough about the candidates, but Steitz told him he had to vote in the race anyway, Yates said.

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Steitz, 42, eventually grabbed the man by the neck and threw him out of the polling place, Yates said.

“The poor guy went back in and he threw him out again,” Yates said. “At least it wasn’t over a Democrat or a Republican being on the ballot.”

Election officials called police.

“That about tops off the day,” said Paula McCraney, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County clerk’s office.

There was no immediate response to a call seeking comment from Steitz at his home.