At ADP Board Meeting, Plants & McGinnis Vote to Approve ADP Union Agreement
“...if it protects election continuity, we need to support it.”
Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) Regular Meeting - September 17, 2026
Meeting Info - Regular Meeting on September 17, 2026 at 9:00 am in the BOE Conference Room at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 004 (Basement), Chardon, OH, 44024. Attendance was in-person and virtual via MS Teams. No video option is available.
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 - Richard Piraino
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Board Member - Joan Windnagel
Board member Janet Carson was absent
County Representatives: In person, Ron Weigle, Maintenance Director, and Frank Antenucci, Deputy Chief Administrator & Chief Information Security Officer, Automated Data Processing (ADP). Online, Mark Jimison, Assistant County Administrator for the Board of County Commissioners.
Others: In person, Dustin Russell, Secretary of State Liaison, John Steiger, Democratic Party Liaison, one member of the public and this LWV Geauga Observer.
Call to Order – The meeting was called to order shortly after 9:00 a.m.
Minutes – Minutes for the Regular Meeting on August 17, 2026 were approved without edits. Observer Note: Read approved BOE Minutes here.
Payment of Bills – Invoices totaling $15,002.35 were approved unanimously and included:
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$6,500.00 to Company 119 for poll pad training video
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$2,650.00 to Ohio Association of Election Officials for 2027 winter conference
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$2,500.00 to KnowInk for PollSync annual maintenance contract
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$1,889.05 to KMI for absentee applications and instructions
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$750.00 to MNJ for Lexmark black toner
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$278.68 to Triad for 1,208 voter cancellation letters Observer Note: Under Secretary of State Directive 2026-44, Data Collection, Notice, and Cancellation Procedures for Completion of the 2022 General Voter Records Maintenance Program and Past Due Cancellations, by September 11, 2026 Ohio county BOEs were required to send a “Registration Readiness Notice” to voters at risk of being removed from voting rolls based either on their inactivity or on the possibility they had moved, as indicated by review of the National Change of Address Database. No voter registrations will be canceled prior to the November 3, 2027 General Election. For more information, see Secretary LaRose’s August 7 and September 21 press releases.
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$204.79 to Verizon Wireless for Emergency cell phones – September
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$109.17 to Guardian Alarm for monitoring - October
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$67.88 to DEX Imaging for copier contract - July and August
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$52.78 to Quill for name desk blocks
Mrs. McGinnis noted the training video was paid for using grant funds. Mrs. Windnagel urged staff to have ample print toner on hand, as this item cannot be easily purchased locally.
Report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) – Mr. Antenucci reported that ADP staff will soon lockdown the county IT network to protect against any disruption to the election cycle. He assured the board members that on Election Day, ADP teams will provide full technology support to the Board of Elections.
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Board members expressed great appreciation for ADP’s continuous support.
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Mr. Pavella noted that a Principles Meeting will be held in early October between BOE, ADP, the Sheriff, Building Maintenance and Emergency Management to ensure early voting runs smoothly.
Report from BOCC Maintenance – Mr. Weigle requested a schedule of early voting hours and poll worker trainings and updated the Board on several items:
Signage for Early Voting Ballot Box - The secure ballot box has been installed in its usual location near the BMV drive thru. He is waiting for direction from BOE staff about where to install signage to help voters locate the box.
Parking Plan for Early Voting - Following the County Commissioners’ decision to not expand parking capacity for the Geauga County Office Building (GCOB), Mr. Weigle was tasked with developing a plan to meet BOE’s early voting parking needs. He presented a print out showing an aerial view of the GCOB and its onsite parking. Parking areas were designated for curbside voters, the general public, county employees and county vehicles. He stated the parking plan would go into effect in early October. Observer Note: A copy of the map was obtained and reviewed. Estimated available parking spaces include 7-8 in the rear of the building for curbside voting, 124 spaces in the front of the building for public parking (including 7-8 spaces for drivers with disabilities), 198 spaces for employees and 53 spaces for county vehicles. Generally speaking, the first three rows of parking spaces on the north side of the building are designated for the public.
Agencies providing services to the public from this location include the Ohio BMV/Chardon License Bureau & Title Office, Geauga Board of Elections, Geauga Public Health District, Geauga Job and Family Services, Geauga First Family Council, and the Geauga Veterans Services Commission. The GCOB also houses numerous administrative offices, most notably the Geauga Board of County Commissioners, and hosts public meetings. It is unclear whether 124 public parking spaces will adequately support residents visiting the various county agencies during early voting.
Mr. Piraino said that he arrived for the meeting today at 9:00 am and noted that the parking lot seemed full. He inquired whether there were any special events being held. No one was aware of anything. The board continued to express concerns about inadequate parking for early voting.
Mr. Weigle said all maintenance vehicles were being relocated off-site and that the county vehicles spaces shown on the plan could be made available for employee or public use if necessary. They all agreed the situation would need to be carefully monitored.
Mr. Piraino recommended that a letter be sent to the County Commissioners and County Administrator reminding them of the provisions of the May 26, 2023 Consent Decree and their obligation to address the evolving needs of Geauga voters. Mrs. Windnagel and Mr. Pavella agreed and further stipulated the letter should include their ongoing concerns about inadequate storage space for the BOE’s voting equipment.
Security Glass for BOE Offices - Mr. Weigle has been working closely with BOE staff and the vendor to meet requirements of the Secretary of State security grant. Installation will not be completed for the General Election cycle. Mr. Plants indicated he would provide more information to the Board later in the agenda.
Security Grant - The staff intends to use the Secretary of State security grant funds to install security glass at the main office counter. Mr. Plants explained that current processes for checking in voters using poll pads requires large openings to be cut into the glass, thereby negating the benefit of the safety glass.
After consulting with Triad, an approved Secretary of State vendor, he recommends installing 4 desktop computers on the staff side of the security glass that will be used for checking in voters and then approving the voters’ ballots for printing. Small signature pads on the voter side of the counter would be used to confirm voter signatures. Using this approach, the size of opening in the safety glass would only need to accommodate voter IDs and ballots being passed back and forth.
Mr. Piraino expressed concern that voters will see the computers and be concerned that they are connected to the internet. Mr. Plants emphasized that the computers will NOT be connected to the internet. All agreed voters will need to be educated about the change in process. It was agreed that funds were available in their existing budget to pay for the additional equipment. The board voted 3-0 to seek a revised quote from the security glass vendor, with the understanding that the security glass and new processes will be put into place after the 2026 General Election.
Public Test of Voting Equipment - The Board voted 3-0 to schedule the public test of voting equipment on Friday, October 2, 2026 at 9:00 am. Office Administrator Scott Daisher will select the precincts to test.
OAEO Winter Conference - The board voted 3-0 to send all members of the board and the four full-time BOE employees to the Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO) Winter Conference, scheduled to take place in Columbus, OH in January, 2027.
Director’s Report – Tyler Plants reported:
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He, Nora McGinnis and Office Administrator Scott Daisher attended last week’s meeting of the ADP Board. Reviewer Note: Read more about the September 10, 2026 ADP Board Meeting here.
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He and Mrs. McGinnis voted in favor of ADP staff’s collective bargaining agreement in order to ensure continuity of election security for voters.
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Mr. Plants stated, “we can’t survive if the computers go down… we don’t have our own IT department.”
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Mr. Pavella said, “It would be foolhardy to have to go contract outside when we have a way more than adequate IT department…. They’re [ADP] a good outfit.”
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Mrs. McGinnis added, “they know us.”
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Mr. Pavella asserted that county departments that have opted to use contract IT services instead of ADP have all encountered various degrees of trouble, with some being hacked.
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Mr. Plants said he and Mrs. McGinnis concluded that “if it protects election continuity, we need to support it.”
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He and Mr. Pavella participated in a LWV Geauga program about election and voting processes. Reviewer Note: A video of the program is available here.
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They have received 3,800 absentee voting applications, mostly in the last two weeks. Part-time staff were called in to process the applications. Over 120 applications had errors (many missing date of birth) and staff are sending letters to voters to prompt correction. Mr. Plants noted there have been no changes to the form.
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They had a productive meeting with the Postmaster, who Mr. Plants described as “being on board.” In response to an inquiry, Mr. Plants clarified that he was referring to the Chardon Post Office. He indicated that efforts to communicate with the Chagrin Falls Post Office have not been successful. Mr. Pavella noted this is problematic, given that a large portion of Geauga voters are served by the Chagrin Falls Post Office.
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Board Counsel Kristen Rine will formally notify the Chardon School District to anticipate the high school gymnasium being used as a voting location for Chardon City precincts A and B in future elections. Voters in those precincts currently vote in Building 8 of the 470 Center Street office complex. The county has indicated it intends to sell that property.
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He and Scott Daisher visited the renovated Bainbridge Town Hall and determined the location is not suitable as a voting location. They noted the space previously used for voting was taken down and not rebuilt.
Deputy Director – Nora McGinnis reported she has been working on:
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Board Minutes plus the bills for today’s meeting
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Proofing ballots
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Preparing the 46 day legal notice for UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) voting
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Obtaining revised UOCAVA envelopes, which were changed by the Secretary of State after February, 2026.
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OAEO Conference sign ups
Adjournment – 10:25 am
Next meeting, all in the BOE Conference Room at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 004 (Basement) Chardon, OH 44024
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Oct 2 at 9:00 a.m. - Test of Voting Equipment
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Oct 15 at 9:00 a.m. - Regular Meeting
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Nov 3 at 6:15 a.m. until results tabulated - Election Day Meeting
Observer: Shelly Lewis
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: September 18, 2026
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.