GOP Issues Apology After Poll Inspector’s CommentKosciusko County Republican Chairman Mike Ragan issued an apology Friday evening on behalf of the party to a black poll worker who was “disrespected” by a poll inspector Tuesday.
In the statement, Ragan said he “reached out to Leola Nelson today to offer his sincere apology for an unwarranted comment that she was subjected to while performing a valuable public service as a poll worker. The entire Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee joins in this apology. The comment was made by an individual representing our party as an inspector, but it does not represent our party’s deeply held values and beliefs. No individual, or her service to our community, should ever be demeaned or diminished because of the color of her skin. We will ensure that the inspector who made the comment does not work the polls in the future.”
In a telephone interview with Leola Nelson-Raphael Friday, she said Tuesday morning started out OK. All the poll workers were sitting down along a long table, doing what they were there to do. Voters were coming in and there were two Republican clerks and two Democrats, of which she was one. At the end of the table was Jack Volkers, Wayne 9 poll inspector.
Attempts to find a phone number for Volkers to contact him for a comment were unsuccessful as of Friday night.
The workers had been laughing and joking that morning, but Volkers, who was sitting next to Wayne 8 poll inspector Deb Wright, also had been talking about religion and how members of the LGBTQ community should not be put into positions of authority.
At one point, Volkers then asked Wright, “Where did you get this one from?” Nelson-Raphael recalled and at first everyone just laughed him off. He then looked at Nelson-Raphael and told her, “You’re our token black.”
“At first it made me feel alone because I was the only black person in the room,” she said. “I felt awkward. At first, I felt surprised, then alone, then belittled. I felt like he didn’t mean that in a positive way. I was surprised. I was appalled.”
She said it was unfortunate he said what he said, but maybe he got a little more bold in making the comment after George Floyd was killed May 25 in Minneapolis after a police officer put his knee of Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. That death has resulted in protests across the globe.
Nelson-Raphael said she worked the polls five times before and never had anything like this happen to her before. Usually, she works the polls at Miller’s Merry Manor but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, polling sites were moved around and she was working at the First Christian Church, next to Warsaw Community Church, on Tuesday. She has worked with Wright during the polls before.
“It was the first time I worked Wayne 8. It’s the first time I ever laid eyes on Jack,” Nelson-Raphael said.
After his comments, she said they still had about six hours to go at the polls. She tried to stay focus and do her job.
“When I got home, I posted it on Facebook that I never had anything said to my face like that before, and I was born and raised here,” she said.
She wonders why he would say what he said out loud so that everyone could hear it.
“I felt very belittled,” Nelson-Raphael said.
After providing the prepared statement, Ragan said he called Nelson-Raphael after learning about the matter. He also spoke to Wright who verified “word for word” what happened at the polling site Tuesday.
“I was stunned, disgusted. This guy will never work at a Republican poll again. The clerk’s office is all upset about it, too. It was stupid. I think he thought he was just being funny,” Ragan said. “There is stuff going on that just adds to it.”
He was able to get Nelson-Raphael’s phone number from her sister, Edna, who Ragan said he’s known for a long time. “As soon as she (Edna) saw me, she broke down and was simply sobbing,” he said. “It really hurt them, and I’m sorry for that. It’s not us, I told her.”
Ragan said Volkers doesn’t normally work that precinct, but was “on loan” for the day because an inspector was needed.
“They also told me that, in the middle of the day, there was a recliner in the church. He, for over an hour, took a nap in the middle of the voting, in that recliner,” Ragan said.
Nelson-Raphael said she accepted Ragan’s apology and that’s exactly what she would have done if the shoe was on the other foot. She said Ragan didn’t make the comment, and she feels Volkers still owes her an apology for his comment. She said she wished the other leaders at the polling location would have said something to him in her defense.
“I felt disrespected,” she said. “There’s a level of respect we all owe each other as human beings.”
The incident won’t stop her from working as a poll worker because she didn’t do anything wrong, she said. “It’s not hard to be cordial with people.”
Wright said, “I was kind of shocked and didn’t know what to say. It was a little surprising. I talked to Leola the next day. I felt terrible for not speaking up and saying anything. I felt bad.”
She said she and Leola are friends and she was disappointed that Volkers made the comment.
