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Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) -  4/9/2024

Meeting Info: Special Meeting on April 9, 2024 at 9:00 am in BOE Conference Room at 470 Center St, Bldg 6A, Chardon, OH, 44024.  In-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. 

 

Agenda: An agenda was provided in advance.

Attendance: Present were:

• Board Chair - Dennis Pavella

• Board Vice Chair - Joan Windnagel

• Board Member - Janet Carson

• Board Member - Richard Piraino

• Director - Michelle Lane

• Deputy Director - Nora McGinnis

• Staff - Scott Daisher

• Staff - Laura Amick

County Representatives: Present were:

• Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP - Frank Antenucci (virtually)

• Geauga County Assistant Prosecutor - Kristen Rine (virtually)

Others: Five members of the public in-person along with this Observer; two individuals present virtually.

Call to Order - 9:04 am

Minutes - March 19, 2024 minutes were approved without edit or discussion.

Bills -Approved bills totaling $5,156.08, including Election Day Marshal mileage, a cleaning fee for one polling location (more expected in the next month), provisional envelopes and routine office supplies.

Drop Box and Security Camera Installation - Mr. Antenucci presented quotes totaling $148,451,78 for costs associated with installing BOE’s drive up drop box and security cameras, in accordance with Ohio Secretary of State specifications. The project, which ADP proposes managing, will be completed in three phases: boring beneath the pavement to run power for security cameras, pouring a concrete pad for the drop box and security camera infrastructure and installation of security cameras.

• Mr. Pavella noted that this work should have been done during the construction of the County Office Building when it would have been less expensive.

• Mrs. Carson inquired who would pay for the project and whether it could be completed before July.  Mr. Pavella stated that per the Settlement Agreement, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is required to cover these costs.  Mr. Antenucci stated the boring could be completed in the next 4-8 weeks, but the timeline is dependent on timely approval by the BOCC.  

• Mrs. Windnagel inquired what would happen if the BOCC rejected the proposal.  Mr. Pavella stated they may need to bring the matter back to Judge Paschke if this occurs.

• Mr. Piraino suggested that someone present the project requirements to the County Commissioners at their weekly meeting.  The other Board members indicated this has historically been unproductive.  

• Mrs. Lane noted that Linda Burhenne, Assistant County Administrator, has been helpful in resolving issues.

The Board voted 4-0 to request that the Board of County Commissioners allocate funds up to $150,000 for costs associated with site preparation and required infrastructure improvements related to installation of the voting drop box and mandated security cameras. Observer Comment:  See Consent Decree filed May 26, 2023 for settlement terms of the legal action taken by BOE against BOCC to ensure the new space in the County Office Building meets requirements for executing elections as set forth by the Ohio Secretary of State.

Contingency Plan at 470 Center St. - Mr. Antenucci indicated that, because of uncertainty about the BOE’s move to the County Administration Building, ADP must also plan for the General Election to potentially be run from the current site. Firewalls must be reconfigured and security updates installed. Time frames for performing that work were discussed.

•  Mrs. Lane noted that the window for moving is closing and requested that Mr. Antenucci keep Jesse Combs, Secretary of State Cyber Liaison, apprised of the situation. 

• Mr. Daisher noted that new cybersecurity directives are expected in the coming months.

Steps to Certify November 8, 2022 General Election

• “4 Day Absentee Ballots” are those received during the 4 days following Election Day, on March 20-23.  They must be postmarked no later than March 18, the day before Election Day.  Examined 82 such ballots, accepting 67 and rejecting 15 as follows:

  • Accepted 62 ballots postmarked March 18 or earlier and 5 ballots with returned 11-S Form envelope corrections. 

  • Rejected 9 absentee ballots with postmarks after March 18 (using a magnifying glass to examine unclear postmarks), 5 absentee ballots which were timely postmarked but received after March 23, and 1 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Act (UOCAVA) ballot with a Feb 27 military postmark that was received after March 23.
    

Board members discussed the detrimental impact of Ohio House Bill 458, which shortened the window for receiving absentee ballots from 10 days to 4 days. It was clarified that the Ohio General Assembly was responsible for these changes, not the United Stated Congress.

• Provisional Ballots - Examined 75 provisionals, reclassifying 4 to “4 day absentee ballots,” accepting 41 and rejecting 30 as follows:

• Reclassified 4 provisional ballots (remade and counted in the 4 day group) including:

  • Three (3) where the regularly voted ballot was rejected by the scanner for “pen rest” errors.  This occurs when stray marks are made on the ballot by the voter. 

  • One (1) where the voter had multiple spoilt ballots. The third ballot was incorrectly placed in a provisional envelope when it should have been scanned as a regular ballot.

• Accepted 41 provisional ballots, including: 

  • Two (2) where the voter requested an absentee ballot but did not receive or vote it

  • Fifteen (15) changes of address within Geauga County

  • Nine (9) registered in Ohio but not Geauga County

  • Two (2) change of name

  • One (1) voter without photo ID, as permitted for those filing Form 12-O, which is an Affidavit of Religious Objection

  • Six (6) ID issues that were cured: 

    • Four (4) related to hyphen/apostrophe mismatches in voter name 

    • One (1) in office “fleeing voter”who then was flagged for voting at their polling location

    • One (1) poll worker error
      

• Rejected 30 provisional ballots, including:

  • Eighteen (18) with expired ID

  • Five (5) not registered in Ohio

  • Three (3) with missing DOB (date of birth), which is a fatal flaw

  • One (1) with incorrect drivers license number, which is a fatal flaw

  • Two (2) who voted in the wrong polling place

  • One (1) where the voter thought the ballot did not register in the DS200 scanner but it was confirmed the ballot did count.

• A bipartisan team took the approved additional ballots for processing.

Voter Confusion -  While waiting for the additional ballots to be processed, Board members discussed voter confusion about changes in election law.  Per staff, more than 35 voters came to the BOE the day before Election Day to vote early, not realizing that the General Assembly had eliminated that option. There was also concern about the ballots rejected for voters with expired photo IDs, which was another new provision of HB 458. It was noted that, with work schedules and family obligations, four days is not much time for voters to cure the deficiency. Board members stated voters don’t understand why the postmark date for absentee ballots isn’t Election Day.

Election Day Review - (still processing additional ballots) Mrs. Lane shared:

• Support from the equipment vendor, Election Systems and Software, was excellent.

• A printer error was discovered on Chester C ballots, necessitating office printing and transportation of corrected ballots to the polling location. The Board voted to accept a $400 credit from Youngstown Printing.

• There were some issues with poll pad printers running out of tape

• There were issues with poll pads not synching correctly at some locations, due to poll workers not following set up instructions.  It was clarified that this issue had no impact on votes cast or counted.
  

Observer Comment: Mr. Piraino departed the meeting at this point, around 11:27 AM.

Candidate Incident Review - (still processing additional ballots) Board members discussed reports of a candidate violating neutral zone requirements at the Munson Town Hall and Celebration Lutheran Church polling locations. The board voted 3-0 to refer the matter to both the Secretary of State and the County Prosecutor.

Steps to Certify March 19, 2024 Primary Election (continued)

• Scott Daisher presented a report of final election results.  

• As the race for Democratic County Committee for Russell Township D was still tied, the Board performed a coin flip and declared Jim Mueller the winner. 

• The Board voted to certify the official election results and signed certifications, which will be sent to the Ohio Secretary of State for final approval.

• Recount of the tied Democratic County Committee race for Russell Township D was scheduled for April 19, 2024 at 1:00 PM.

• The Post-Election Audit will be scheduled at the conclusion of the recount.

Independent Candidate Petition - The candidacy of Justin Tjaden for Ohio’s 99th District Representative was rejected for failing to obtain sufficient valid signatures. The required number of signatures was 494, and only 371 valid signatures were obtained. 

Observer Comment: As reported by local media, Mr. Tjaden has filed a lawsuit in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas against Geauga BOE, alleging that the more stringent signature requirements for independent candidates are a violation of his rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Ohio Constitution, including the rights to equal protection, free speech and association, and due process.

Director’s Report - Mrs. Lane shared:

• Summer Conference - This will be considered at the next meeting.

• Budget - They are budgeting for two elections with no special election.  The budget request is largely the same, with three additions: stair-type ladder with platform to access high shelving at new County Administration Building, a vehicle that is needed for transportation of ballots and twice daily trips to post office, and a mail machine.

• Voting Booths - Request for bid nearly ready for publishing.

• Gilmore Contract - Working on security for new building.

• Building 8, located in the county’s 470 Center Street complex - She has made two requests to Gerry Morgan at BOCC requesting use of Building 8 as a polling location for the November 2024 General Election. No response has been received from Mr. Morgan.

• Move to New Building - She is expecting an update from Ms. Burhenne.

Deputy Director’s Report - Mrs. McGinnis reported:

• In-office audit of election showed incident log use was inconsistent.

• Mrs. Carson shared that she observed poll workers who did not know where to find the list of write-in candidates. Mrs. Windnagel suggested having a separate binder instructing workers on how to handle write-in candidates.

• She has been working on Marshal mileage and payroll.

• Active Shooter Training for staff is coming up.

Public Comments - Numerous questions were asked and comments offered throughout the meeting, including:

• BOE or LWV should educate voters on “fatal errors” that lead to ballots being rejected.

• Question about why photo ID is not required for absentee ballots

• Questions about 17 year olds voting

• Some public attendees alleged that, in the last election, many Amish were incorrectly told by a poll worker that they couldn’t vote because they didn’t have ID.  No information about polling location or whether the alleged incidents were reported to BOE was provided.

Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 12:20 PM pm

Next Meeting - April 19, 2024 at 1:00 pm for recount. 

Approved Minutes - Posted on the BOE website.

Observer: Shelly Lewis

Editor/Reviewer: Sarah McGlone

Date Submitted: 4/17/2024   

The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.