News / Articles

Geauga Board of Elections Certifies November 5, 2024 Election Results

Geauga has 4th highest turnout in Ohio; Nearly half of voters cast ballots during early voting

Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) -  11/19/2024

Meeting Info: Special Meeting on November 19, 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 (as needed)

• Staff - Laura Amick (as needed)
  

County Representatives:

• Auditor & ADP (Automatic Data Processing) Chief Administrator - Charles E. Walder

Appointed Election Observers:

• Geauga County Republican Party - Walter ‘Skip’ Claypool

Observer Comment: Appointed Election Observers are permitted to watch and inspect the official proceedings of an election but may not handle materials.  They are administered an oath that states in part that they will ”faithfully and impartially discharge the duties as an official observer…”  We did not observe the administration of the oath. For more information about Appointed Election Observers, see p. 272 of Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2023-29, Sec. 9.08 - Observers

Other Attendees: Ohio Secretary of State Liaison, Fiona Ruminski, 4 members of the public (2 in-person and 2 online); LWV Geauga Observers Shelly Lewis (9AM - 12PM) and Rooney Moy (12PM -2:30PM), both in-person.

Call to Order - 9:10 am

Minutes - November 5, 2024 minutes were approved without edit or discussion.

Bills - Bills totaling $5,508.34 were approved with the Guardian Alarm bill capped at $900.00.  Key expenses included cleaning fees, fuel, ballot stock, office supplies, copier fees, and new board-issued cell phones, which will be used year-round by key staff and board members for official communications.

ADP UPDATE

1) Election Day - Mr. Walder stated there were no significant issues on Election Day.  Minor localized problems (e.g., a device needing to be plugged in) were resolved quickly by staff. He noted that the uploading of election results to the new Triad website performed seamlessly, and the backup "hot site" was tested but ultimately was not needed.

• ADP had 13 staff members supporting election operations, both on-site and remotely, slightly above normal staffing levels to ensure smooth execution. Per Mr. Walder, his staff enjoy working on the election even though it is a very long work day.

• Mr. Walder highlighted the collaboration between the Board of Elections and ADP and emphasized Scott Daisher’s role in planning and executing Election Day operations. He stated the Secretary of State provided clear guidance. 

2) BOE Move to Geauga County Office Building (GCOB) - Mr. Walder stated his staff would continue to support the BOE as they move to their new location.

• Mrs. Carson noted the high turnout during early voting and expressed concerns about limited parking and accessibility at the GCOB.  She said that during the last weekend of early voting, voters stood in line for up to two hours and pointed out that in the new space, voters would be waiting on stairs. Mr. Pavella said these concerns have been expressed consistently “from day one.”

• Mrs. Windnagel indicated she sent pictures to the Geauga Commissioners to illustrate the concerns.  In their responses to her, Mr. Dvorak said he appreciated everyone’s hard work, Mr. Lennon opined the parking at GCOB is adequate and Mr. Spidalieri made a joke about setting up an ice cream truck in the parking lot.

Observer Comment: Voters may vote in-person during the early voting period at their county Board of Elections.  The Geauga Board of Elections offices will be located in the basement of the GCOB.

3) GCOB Elevator Cameras  - Mr. Walder reported that ADP sent the Maintenance Department quotes for the required wiring retrofit over a month ago. His understanding is that Maintenance is seeking additional bids, as they believe the cost is excessive.  

• Mr. Pavella and Mr. Walder opined that it would have been less costly to wire the elevator during the original construction of GCOB.

• Walder said ADP has the cameras and is ready to install them as soon as the wiring issues are addressed by the Maintenance Department.  He noted that the cameras “don’t get better with time.”

Observer Comment: Elevator security cameras are mandated by the Secretary of State in order to ensure proper “chain of custody” of ballots being transferred by staff to the BOE offices from the outside drop box or from the U.S Post Office.

CERTIFICATION OF NOV 5, 2024 GENERAL ELECTION

1) Review of 4 Day Absentee Ballots  - These ballots are received during the 4 days following Election Day, on Nov 6-9.  They must be postmarked no later than Nov 4, the day before Election Day.  Examined 177 such ballots, accepting 122 and rejecting 55 as follows:

• Accepted: 

  • 103 ballots postmarked Nov 4 or earlier 

  • 8 ballots with returned 11-S Form envelope corrections

  • 11 additional ballots that met all requirements, per Nora McGinnis

• Rejected: 

  • 23 ballots with postmarks after Nov 4, 

  • 15 ballots with no postmark

  • 7 ballots timely postmarked but received after Nov 9 

  • 2 ballots postmarked after Nov 4 and received after Nov 9 

  • 1 ballot delivered to the Summit County BOE drop box on 11/4 and received by Geauga BOE via USPS on Nov 13  

  • 7 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Act (UOCAVA) ballots received after Nov 9

A bipartisan team took the approved additional ballots for processing.

BOE Board members expressed frustration with Ohio laws governing acceptance of voters’ absentee ballots, specifically:

• Postmark deadline the day before Election Day is confusing to voters

• Shortening the window for receiving absentee ballots from 10 days to 4 days especially hurts military and overseas voters

Board members expressed concerns about United States Postal Service (USPS) processing issues, specifically: 

• Staff inquiries with USPS revealed that the 15 ballots lacking a postmark had been transferred from local Geauga USPS locations to the Chardon USPS office, bypassing the normal process of sending mail first to Cleveland USPS and then to Chardon.  Although the intention was to expedite processing, it appears the ballots were not postmarked at either the local or Chardon USPS locations.

• It is unclear whether any of the 23 ballots rejected for having late postmarks were impacted by the USPS inter-office transfer process.

• Multiple late-arriving ballots from Cincinnati, OH, Tampa, FL and North Carolina were mentioned as the ballots were postmarked in mid-October but did not arrive until after Nov 9.  

  • Mr. Piraino noted, “the voter did what he was instructed to do…it’s not his fault. They took a month to get here.”

  • Referring to the date of birth provided on the absentee ballot envelope, Mrs. Carson commented, “And if you look at the date of most of these, they’re young people. They’re all young people.”

  • Mr. Claypool (Appointed Elections Observer) interjected, “That’s all right, they voted there anyway.”

  • Mrs. Carson continued, “We try to encourage young people to vote and then they’re disenfranchised because their vote didn’t count.”

The Board discussed at length the 1 properly postmarked ballot from a registered Geauga voter that was received in the Summit County BOE drop box on Nov 4 and delivered via USPS to the Geauga BOE on Nov 13. A majority of the Board voted 3-1 to reject the ballot, citing language in the SOS Instructions and the legal opinion prepared by the Geauga Prosecutor’s office. Mrs. Carson opposed the decision. 

2) Review of Provisional Ballots - These ballots are typically completed when there are questions about a voter’s ID, registration, or polling location.  Voters had until Nov 9 to “cure” any deficiencies. Geauga BOE staff researched the information provided on each provisional ballot envelope and coordinated efforts with other Ohio BOE’s to ascertain eligibility and to confirm no duplicate votes were cast. Examined 857 provisional ballots, accepting 635 and rejecting 222 as follows:

• Accepted: 

  • 139 ballots where the voter requested an absentee ballot, never voted the absentee ballot, and then opted to instead vote on Election Day.  

  • 142 ballots where voters changed their address within Geauga County

  • 215 ballots where voters were registered in Ohio but not in Geauga County

  • 49 ballots where voters changed their name

  • 31 ballots for voters without photo ID, as permitted for those filing Form 12-O, which is an Affidavit of Religious Objection

  • 23 ballots for voters who cured their ID issues 

  • 4 ballots for voters with hyphen/apostrophe mismatches in voter name or apt #’s 

  • 1 ballot for voter with duplicate name

  • 2 ballots where voters’ information was incorrect in the BOE system

  • 19 ballots no reason was listed on the envelope

  • 4 ballots with spoilt ballot issues 

  • 6 ballots where voters in the correct polling location were given a ballot for the wrong precinct (these ballots were “remade” to ensure accurate final reporting).

• Rejected:

  • 76 ballots with ID issues, including 62 with expired ID, 10 that failed to correctly write the ID on the provisional ballot envelope and 4 that did not have a required Form 12-O

  • 126 ballots for voters not registered in Ohio

  • 3 ballots where voter did not supply DOB (date of birth), which is a fatal flaw

  • 1 ballot where voter used incorrect year of birth, which is a fatal flaw

  • 6 ballots where voter did not provide a signature, which is a fatal flaw

  • 1 ballot where voter did not provide name, address or DOB

  • 4 ballots where voters voted in the wrong polling location

  • 1 ballot where the voter also submitted an absentee ballot

  • 4 where the voter thought the ballot did not register in the DS200 scanner but it was confirmed the ballot did count

There were 4 “fleeing voters” which describes a situation where the voter departed without completing their ballot or without completing the DS-200 scan of their ballot.  Mr. Pavella explained that the bipartisan teams are not permitted to complete the DS-200 scan on behalf of the voter.  These ballots were never included in the vote totals so no action is required.

Regarding the voter who cast both an absentee ballot and a provisional ballot on Election Day, the Board determined that referral to the County Prosecutor was not warranted.  Mrs. Lane will send the voter a follow up letter. 

A bipartisan team took the approved additional ballots for processing.

While waiting for the additional ballots to be processed, the Board continued to address agenda items.

Poll Worker Payroll - Mrs. Lane reported that the poll worker election payroll was $71,460.00, which she considered high. In August, the BOE received a check for $8,434.00 for payroll from the Secretary of State’s office. She noted that payroll for the last presidential race was $77,892.00 due to Covid and the need for extra poll personnel.  

The Board unanimously approved allocating up to $72,500.00 to cover last minute payroll expenses.

Holiday Schedule - The Board unanimously approved a motion to give employees December 24 off with pay, in addition to the traditional Christmas and New Year’s paid holidays. Mrs. Lane noted that historically employees have gotten Christmas Eve off when the date falls mid-week. Staff will use comp time for days off between Christmas and New Year’s. Mr. Pavella agreed with the proposal given how hard the staff had worked. Mrs. Lane said that if a filing or other issue comes up in that period, she and Mrs. McGinnis would come to the office to handle it.

Director’s Report - Mrs. Lane reported:

• They have been working on “provisionals, provisionals, provisionals, we’re drowning in provisionals.” Observer Note: Staff investigated over 850 provisional votes.

• They are organizing the paperwork that came back from the polling stations. An internal audit of the polling locations was completed yesterday.

• The BOE received a public records request for any correspondence between the Board and members of the General Assembly on Board business. 

• The staff responsible for equipment delivery and pick up did a good job. The Board agreed.

• Using two “supply Marshalls” to replenish supplies at the polls worked out very well for this large election. Mr. Pavella noted that it’s important for Marshalls to stay at polling stations to problem solve. Mrs. Lane doesn’t think “supply Marshalls” would be necessary for smaller elections. 

• She is unhappy with the $500 credit the printer gave the BOE for the misprinted Claridon Township ballots. There was a long discussion about problems with ballot printing and ballot paper and how to prevent issues in the future. Ms. Ruminski noted that the Secretary of State’s office is aware of which printers and paper providers were problems. She recommended bringing the issue to the attention of the Winter Conference organizers.

• There has been an exponential increase in the number of in-office voting:

                        * 2024 - 14,173 

                        * 2020 - 10,742 (Covid year)

                        * 2016 – 4,429

• Regret that there hadn’t been more space for in person voting at the BOE office, noting that the crowding on the Saturday before the election was “unconscionable.”

• There were 27,610 in-person early voting and mail-in absentee ballots returned, making early voting almost 50% of the total votes cast.

While waiting for the additional ballots to be processed, the Board continued discussing their concerns about the new GCOB’s limitations for early voting, including:

• The difficult logistics of voters coming to the voting space from two different routes - elevator and stairs;

• The danger of standing for long periods on stairs; 

• The large number of children with their parents creating potentially unsafe conditions;

• Accommodating long lines of voters during poor weather.

Mr. Pavella said “it is a lawsuit waiting to happen.” 

Mr. Piraino sees the increase in early voting as “the way of the future.” 

Mr. Claypool (Appointed Elections Observer) interjected, saying “we’re going to shut it down, because there’s going to be a movement for one-day voting; everybody votes live, none of this absentee other than people in the military and so on. There’s going to be a movement.” He went on to assert there is too much corruption associated with early voting. 
Observer Comment: It is unclear who Mr. Claypool believes is going to “shut down” early voting or why he is commenting during a Board discussion.  Per SOS Directive 2023-29, “While observers are permitted to engage election officials in casual conversation during less busy times, even to gather information about the process, their statutory purpose is to watch.”   In a follow-up email, Geauga GOP Chair Joan Windnagel indicated that although Mr. Claypool was present as an appointed observer of the party, the viewpoints he expressed opposing early voting were personal in nature. Reviewer Comment: As confirmed by their 100% accuracy rate in the post election audit, early voting in Geauga County is conducted fairly and safely in accordance with Ohio law as administered by the Ohio Secretary of State. 

 

The Board strongly disagreed with Mr. Claypool. Mr. Piraino noted that the population has grown to 300 million people but Mr. Claypool insisted that voting on a single day “would work fine.”

Mrs. Carson asserted that voters want to vote early in-person, preferring not to mail their ballots due to concerns about missing mail-in deadlines. To underline her point, she said “look at how many ballots we rejected because of postmarks.” She said she could see the dates for accepting ballots after election day get shorter. Mr. Pavella noted that they couldn’t get much shorter than the current four day post election deadline.

Mr. Piraino noted the extreme length of poll worker shifts, citing 15-hours plus or more on Election Day. Mr. Pavella said the BOE would love to have the Statehouse change the rule to permit shorter poll worker shifts on Election Day, saying it would make poll worker recruitment much easier. Other Board members agreed.

Mr. Piraino also noted that Ohio is very efficient in their vote counting, as opposed to other states like Arizona and Pennsylvania. In addition, he noted voter records are well-managed and purged regularly. Mrs. Windnagel said the Secretary of State’s office updates voter rolls every 30 days.

Deputy Director Report - Mrs. McGinnis reported:

• She's been working on the internal audit, provisional ballots and Marshall mileage reimbursement. The mileage costs will be presented at the next meeting.
  

Mrs. McGinnis asked if it would be permissible to count ballots that will be remade where voter intent is clear without waiting for Board approval. Mr. Pavella said a lot of counties do that and  it was something to consider as long as it was done with a bipartisan team.

As the Board waited for election results, they continued to discuss ongoing communication difficulties with the BOCC. 

• Mr. Pavella said that the BOE will refuse to move until the new building is completely finished. 

• Mrs. Lane noted that the BOCC purchased a new truck for the BOE without consulting them. The truck is two feet shorter than the old one, which requires additional trips to deliver and pick up voting equipment. 

• The delay in security camera installation in the elevators and the changing location of the ballot box were also discussed. 

• Mrs. Lane said she’s still hoping the BOCC will give them the old Library Administration building.

3) Other Steps to Complete and Certify the Official Canvas 

• Board members reviewed and approved 15 ballots that required additional evaluation for over votes and voter intent.  A bipartisan team took the approved additional ballots for processing.

• During the Deputy Director’s Report, Mr. Daisher updated the Board about a delay in the ballot counting process. He said that the machine came up with an unexpected total so they were going back and hand counting the ballots in batches of 50. Mr. Daisher speculated that the problem was with the ballot paper not lying correctly thereby causing the machine to reject the ballot. 

• Summary Results Reports were reviewed by the Board. With all 78 precincts reporting, there were 55,624 total ballots counted as follows:

• 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.

Voter Turnout was 80.58%, fourth highest in the state.

Post Election Audit Scheduling – Tuesday, November 26 at 9:00 am

Using the 5% of total ballots cast audit formula, the Board will review 2,781 ballots for the presidential, senate and a contested county-wide office. Four precincts were randomly selected for audit:

• Montville B, 

• Chardon Township D 

• Russell Township E 

• Hambden Township C
  

Ballots will be collected from these 4 precincts and kept separate as they are counted by hand and then by machine.

Public Comments - The Board permits questions throughout the course of the meeting.  

• Mr. Claypool inquired whether there were any non-citizen voters in our system.  Mr. Pavella replied there are not.  

• Mr. Claypool asked Mrs. Lane whether anyone had calculated the cost of absentee voting.  She was not aware of such a calculation. 
  

Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 2:27 pm

Next Meeting - Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 9:00 am (for post election audit)

Approved Minutes - Posted on the BOE website.

Observers: Shelly Lewis & Rooney Moy

Editor: Anne Ondrey

Reviewer: Carol Benton

Date Submitted: 11/24/2024   

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.