Board of Elections Votes to Re-Appoint Current Director
and Deputy Director at Reorganization Meeting
Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) - Special Meeting 03/03/2025
Meeting Info: Special Meeting on March 3, 2025 at 9:00 am in BOE Conference Room at 470 Center St, Bldg 6A, Chardon, OH, 44024. Attendance options were both in-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. An agenda was provided in advance. There were no members of the public present in person but typically copies of the Agenda are distributed to all attendees.
Public Comment Policy: The Board of Elections typically responds to questions about agenda items throughout the course of their meetings. Those exchanges are documented below as they occur.
Attendance: Present were:
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Board Chair - Dennis Pavella
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Board Member - Joan Windnagel
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Board Member - Richard Piraino
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Board Member - Janet Carson
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Director - Michelle Lane
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Office Administrator - Scott Daisher
Deputy Director Nora McGinnis was absent and did not participate virtually.
County Representatives: Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP (Automatic Data Processing) attended virtually until 9:40 am.
Others: One member of the public and this LWVG Observer attended virtually.
REORGANIZATION OF THE GEAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
Reviewer Note: As specified in ORC 3501.06, Ohio County Boards of Elections are comprised of four electors who serve staggered, four year terms. The board is bipartisan, with two Republicans and two Democrats who are selected biennially by their respective county party for appointment by the Secretary of State. Once seated, the Board conducts a reorganization meeting as required by ORC 3501.09, where they select a Chair and appoint the Executive Director, Deputy Director and other full time staff to two year terms. Staff leadership is also bipartisan, as the Director and Deputy Director are required to be from opposing parties. The appointed Board Chair must be from the party opposite to the Director.
Call to order by Chair Pavella at 9:08 am
Ms. Lane thanked Board member Joan Windnagel for taking the notes in the absence of the Deputy Director.
Election of Temporary Chair - Dennis Pavella was unanimously elected temporary chair to preside over the reorganization.
Appointment of Director
Michelle Lane was nominated for re-appointment. The Board noted that Mrs. Lane and Mrs. McGinnis are both capable of carrying out either the role of Director or Deputy Director. The Board voted 4-0 to re-appoint Mrs. Lane as Director.
Appointment of Deputy Director
Nora McGinnis was nominated for re-appointment. Although Mrs. McGinnis was not present, Mr. Pavella said she had signed paperwork to continue as Deputy Director. The Board voted 4-0 to re-appoint Mrs. McGinnis as Deputy Director.
Appointment of Board Chair - the Board voted 4-0 to re-appoint Dennis Pavella as Chair of Geauga Board of Elections.
Appointment of other Full Time Staff members to current positions - All full time staff were reappointed to their previous positions.
Mr. Pirano asked if they were appointed every year. Mr. Daisher, Mr. Pavella and Ms. Carson explained that the appointments occur every two years, so it would next happen in 2027. It was also confirmed that they are “at will” employees.
Administer Oaths
Ms. Lane administered the oath to Mr. Pavella
Mr. Pavella administered the oath to the Board members and staff.
BUSINESS MEETING
Call to order by Chair Pavella at 9:21 am
Minutes: The February 18, 2025 Board Minutes were approved, with Ms. Carson abstaining due to her absence from the meeting. Minutes when published can be found here.
Payment of Bills - Invoices totaling $1,094.20 were approved for payment and included:
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$375.00 to Kiwanis HOA for rental of May 6, 2025 Primary Election polling location
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$350.56 to KMI Printing for additional envelopes
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$330.14 for The News Herald subscription (final bill)
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$ 38.50 to Sunrise Springs for water cooler bill
BOE has ended its subscription with The News Herald due to high cost. Mr. Piraino asked if they would need the water cooler in the new building. It was concluded that this is unknown.
ADP - Mr. Antenucci offered his congratulations to everyone for their appointments. He expressed the opinion that this is “absolutely one of the best run boards in the county.“
Mr. Antenucci updated the Board on the status of outstanding projects at the new BOE offices in the Geauga County Office Building.
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Regarding mandated installation of cameras in the elevator serving the BOE, he said they are waiting for the vendor, Schindler Elevator, to complete their legal review of the contract.
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The electrical work is complete on the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) entry doors and Ms. McGinnis was there to check it out. He concluded that all looks good for ADA compliance. He said, in his assessment, “...they did good work.” When asked about the contract amount, he said he didn’t have it with him, but he recalled that it was about $30,000 to $33,000.
May 6, 2025 Special Election Equipment Allocation
The Board reviewed staff recommendations for equipment to be allocated to each polling location.
Ms. Lane explained that for polling locations serving multiple precincts they will need one DS200 Scanner & Tabulator per precinct. “Standalone” precincts serving only one precinct will need two DS200’s. There will be an Express Vote at each location to serve voters with disabilities and sufficient electronic poll pads to serve each precinct plus the Voter Assistance Table. Mrs. Carson noted they are complying with the Secretary of State’s allocation requirements. The Board approved the recommended equipment allocation 4-0.
Mr. Pirano asked about what will happen with the new precinct for Aquilla. Ms. Lane said it was the same location, just renamed. Observer Note: Aquila Village has now been dissolved and rejoined Claridon Township. Towards the end of the meeting, Ms. Lane said that they would be sending notices to everyone in Aquilla explaining that their polling location will not be changed.
Charge Backs from November election. Ms. Lane said that the entire staff reviewed these. Mr. Daisher said that they are for ballots and advertising for levies for the townships and subdivisions. The total was $10,790. It would have included the County but they didn’t have any issues or levies.
Unanimous approval for the Charge Backs.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Ms. Lane said “there is a lot going on” and reported on these topics:
GCOB Building: She and Ms. McGinnis have made several trips to the new BOE offices in the GCOB.
Letter Opener Machine: She is working to procure, through either a bid process or purchase. The Prosecutor’s Office is evaluating to determine the proper method. If under $80,000 and not deemed “election equipment,” they will not be required to go through the bid process. Reviewer Note: Specialized equipment frequently has only one vendor, making the bid process a moot point.
Ballot Printing for May 6 Primary Election: She had a Zoom meeting with Phoenix Graphics to discuss production details of their ballot order. It was agreed that ballots will be printed and wrapped in either 25 or 50 ballot increments and that the back of each shrink-wrapped packet will not have a cover sheet so that BOE staff and precinct officials may readily identify the contents. Mrs. Lane noted that this new vendor appears willing to work with Geauga BOE to meet their unique needs. Reviewer Note: As part of their election day responsibilities, Voting Location Managers must account for all ballots issued to their polling location. To facilitate appropriate chain-of-custody, each precinct’s ballots are pre-numbered, sequential and shrink-wrapped in batches.
Primary Election Funding: State of Ohio will pay $139,663 for the May election. Mrs. Lane said that “whatever we don’t spend we will send back.”
Proofing: The entire staff have been proofreading the ballots and they are also reviewing the poll worker manual, which should be sent to the Board members soon. Mrs. Lane said it is a great learning resource for the poll workers.
Issues on the Ballot : Mrs. Carson asked about State Issue 1. Mrs. Lane said there is a State Issue 2, and her opinion is that there is no state issue 1. Ms. Lane said there are two county issues - Department on Aging and Job and Family Services, which both have levy renewals. There is one school board levy for West Geauga Local School District. There are two Huntsburg issues and Hunting Valley has a charter amendment. Reviewer Note: Senate Bill 98 requires consecutive numbering of state issues in order to prevent voter confusion. This is the second state issue on the ballot following the bill’s 10-24-2024 effective date. Local issues and options were approved during the Feb 18, 2025 Geauga BOE Special Meeting.
Chargebacks: Ms. Lane said there would not be chargebacks since the State is funding the election.
Marshall/Poll Worker Pay: Mrs. Carson asked if there were any changes in pay for marshalls or poll workers. Ms Lane said that there were no changes.
Russell Twp Polling Location: A question was asked about whether Russell has confirmed their new polling location, but it appears that the new Community Room (meant to be a polling location) doesn’t yet have a certificate of occupancy.
Geauga County Office Building - Outstanding Concerns: Mrs. Carson asked about other issues with the new county office building. In addition to the elevator wiring and installation of cameras discussed earlier in the meeting, Mrs. Lane listed several items as follows:
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Concern about parking. It was stated that there had been discussion of a new parking lot being built, but Mr. Pavella said there is no confirmation of that.
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Uncertainty about what to do in the event of a communications emergency. She is waiting to hear back from ADP.
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Shut off valves in the storage area. This is a concern because this is a two keyed door, meaning someone from each political party must be present to open this area and the shut-off valves might need to be accessed quickly in the event of a water leak. Ms. Burhenne had responded to Ms. Lane by email that it is too expensive to move these valves, but according to Ms. Lane it wasn’t clear if she was speaking for the Commissioners. Mrs. Carson suggested sending something in writing to determine the cost of moving these shut off valves and any alternatives that have been explored with cost figures included.
Reviewer Note: Damage to voting equipment from overhead water pipes has been consistently identified by the Board, equipment manufacturer and Secretary of State Liaison as a significant risk to Geauga BOE’s ability to conduct safe, secure elections.
Move to Geauga County Office Building: Ms. Lane said they will take voting equipment to the new building after the May election. She said once equipment is there, they will get a good idea of where they are in terms of storage. Mr. Piraino said there was a provision in the consent decree that they have to provide additional storage if it is needed. It was stated that the County is paying for moving so they will be deciding who does it. Observer Note: It is unclear when staff will move to the new offices as they must complete the canvass for the May 6 Primary Election from their current location by May 27.
OTHER DISCUSSIONS:
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March 10 Meeting Between Subcommittee of Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO) and County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO): Ms. Carson said she will be attending this meeting and expects to discuss poll workers, federal funding, and Ohio General Assembly HB472, which contains new provisions for voter registration, voting and voting systems.
Public comment - This observer asked clarifying questions about several items which are reflected in the report above.
Adjourned at 10:05 am.
Next Meeting:
Regular Meeting on March 20, 2025 at 9:00 am.
Observer Note: At the BOE meeting on February 18 they announced that they would Test Voting Equipment on March 25 or 27, time TBD This was not mentioned at this meeting. See LWVGeauga Observer Report for February 18, 2025.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Sarah McGlone and Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
Date Submitted: 3/4/25
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