A Republican election official in Connecticut has resigned after she used the N-word during an argument with her Democratic counterpart. Mary Smith, the Republican registrar of voters in East Lyme, Connecticut, was accused by the town’s Democratic registrar of voters, Wendi Sims, of using the racial slur during early voting in the state’s primary election earlier this month, according to The Day. Sims said that during an argument about the cleanliness of their shared office, she and other poll workers heard Smith shout that Sims “treats me like I’m a (N-word).” Smith and Sims are both white, according to CT Insider. After Sims reported the incident, the East Lyme Republicans voted unanimously to censure Smith for “language used during a workplace argument,” and town officials asked her to step down. Smith, who has apologized for her actions, according to The Day, announced that she would resign effective Nov. 19 and asked that her name be removed from the ballot for November’s general election in a letter to the town clerk on Friday. The East Lyme Republicans said in its statement that it “does not have the authority to either dismiss an elected town official from their position or remove their name(s) from a ballot in an upcoming election.” The town is legally obligated to pay Smith until her resignation date, according to The Day.
