Meeting Info: Special Meeting on November 23, 2022 at 9:00 am in BOE Conference Room at 470 Center St, Bldg 6A, Chardon, OH, 44024. In-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. This observer participated virtually.
Agenda: an agenda was provided in advance.
Attendance: Present were Board members Dennis Pavella, Joan Windnagel and Janet Carson and Director Michelle Lane, Deputy Director Nora McGinnis and staff member Laura Amick. Board member Ed Ryder was absent. Board Counsel Corey Colombo of McTigue Colombo & Clinger joined virtually at 12:03 pm, just prior to Executive Session.
Charles Walder, Andy Haines and Zack McLeod from ADP participated virtually. ShoMore’ DeNiro, NEO Regional Liaison from Secretary of State LaRose’s office was present for the first part of the meeting. Nancy McArthur participated virtually.
Call to Order - 9:03 am
Minutes - none presented.
Bills -approved poll monitor mileage, typical office expenses and registration fees for the January, 2023 OEAO Winter Conference.
ADP Update -Charles Walder explained that the County phone system is being upgraded to Mitel, a cloud based system that will be used on an interim basis over the next 3-5 years. ADP is currently researching a long-term option. For BOE, they will deploy in late December at the 470 Center Street location and then again in their new office space, wherever that ends up being. Per Walder, Mitel meets the Secretary of State security requirements
-
Janet Carson raised concerns about phone service should the internet be unavailable. Per ADP, cellular service acts as a back-up and they can lend BOE hotspots during election cycles.
-
ADP also expects to install “FirstNet” which is a high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety. In the event of an emergency, network service to BOE could be prioritized.
-
Joan Windnagel expressed concerns about insufficient cell signal in the basement office space in the new County Admin Bldg. Janet Carson asked that ADP ensure signal is sufficient in the loading dock area, as curb-side voters need to call the BOE office from that location. Mr. Walder noted that the outside vendor is still completing the installation and assured the Board that ADP will thoroughly test their proposed office space to ensure cellular signal is working properly.
-
Andy Haines requested that BOE notify them of needs ASAP so that ADP can properly plan and execute. Per Dennis Pavella, they expect a decision to be made about their office space within the next week.
-
Charles Walder noted that “470 Center Street isn’t going dark anytime soon” as the Department of Aging is now utilizing some of the space. Observer Comment: ADP expected that the offices at 470 Center Street would be shut down following the opening of the new County Admin Building. They have not budgeted to support this location beyond 12/31/2022.
Steps to Certify November 8, 2022 General Election
-
“10 Day Absentee Ballots” are those received Nov 8-18. They must be postmarked no later than Nov 7. Examined 138 such ballots, accepting 76 and rejecting 62 as follows:
-
Accepted 47 ballots postmarked Nov 7 or earlier, 8 ballots with returned 11-S Form envelope corrections, 18 UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) ballots and 3 absentee ballots from a family voting from California who timely returned their properly completed ballot/envelope to a California BOE.
-
Rejected 57 absentee ballots with postmarks after November 7, 3 with timely postmarked ballots from New Zealand that arrived after the 10 day deadline, 1 UOCAVA ballot that arrived after the 10 day deadline and 1 ballot with no postmark.
-
Provisional Ballots - examined 613 provisionals, accepting 555 and rejecting 58 as follows:
-
Accepted 137 ballots where voters requested but did not vote their absentee ballot, 157 ballots where voters had moved within Geauga County, 161 Geauga residents registered in another Ohio county, 28 registered Geauga voters with name changes, 2 APRI ballots for certain voters previously purged (see Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute et al. v. Husted) , 25 ballots where no reason for voting provisional was provided, 17 with expired drivers license who provided other acceptable ID, 17 with no drivers license who provided acceptable ID, 1 voter who misstated their street name, 3 non-fatal envelope errors, 1 ballot voted in wrong precinct but correct polling location and 6 provisionals cast instead of regular ballots due to poll worker error.
-
Rejected 4 who had already voted absentee, 8 whose provisional envelopes contained fatal errors, 37 not registered in Ohio, 6 who voted at the incorrect poll & precinct location and 3 who voted in the incorrect county (1 from Ashtabula, 2 from Lake).
-
“Fleeing Voter Ballots” refer to those issued in-person that do not make it through to the final step of being accepted by the scanner. Someone may start to complete their ballot but for various reasons need to leave without scanning their ballot. Most commonly, a voter scans their ballot but then leaves without responding to prompts on the scanner. Only the voter may scan the ballot and respond to any screen prompts. Per Secretary of State directive, such ballots cannot be submitted by a bipartisan team - they must be rejected. Examined and rejected 4 ballots for voters who left before their ballots had been accepted by the scanner.
-
A bipartisan team gathered the examined ballots and began processing the additional approved ballots, which will be added to the unofficial results.
Executive Session - While waiting for additional ballots to be processed, at 12:12 pm the Board voted to enter Executive Session under ORC 121.22(G)(3) for the purpose of conferring with counsel about pending litigation. Mr. Colombo participated virtually and Michelle Lane, Nora McGinnis and Scott Daisher were asked to participate. The Board re-entered regular session at 1:55 pm. No action taken.
Steps to Certify November 8, 2022General Election (continued)
-
Board approved payment of up to $60,000 in payroll expenses for the Nov 8, 2022 general election.
-
Board determined no recounts would be necessary
-
Passed motions to conduct the post election audit of the Nov 8, 2022 general election in a Special Meeting on Tuesday, Dec 13 at 9:30 am and to cancel the regular meeting scheduled for Dec 15.
-
Randomly selected precincts to audit from a jar, choosing Munson Twp F, Chester Twp G Munson Twp B and Russell Twp D. Will examine the U.S. Senate and Issue 3 races/issues.
Director’s Report (still processing additional ballots)
-
Poll workers did a better job on the Accounting page
-
Using a $10,000 Cybersecurity Grant and $692.99 of the existing equipment fund to purchase security monitors and a power pack system for computers. ADP approval required.
-
Required security training complete
-
Continue to receive large public records requests
-
Follow up with Keith McClintock of Hambden Twp re:fiscal officer and building supervisor refusing to allow use of their lift.
Deputy Director’s Report (still processing additional ballots)
Not on Agenda - Janet Carson expressed concern about several provisions of proposed HB 294, specifically:
-
Eliminates curbside voting
-
Requires photo ID, which is an issue for the Amish community
-
Shortens post election day receipt period for absentee ballots from 10 days to 7 days
-
Limits # of ballot boxes
-
Eliminates previously proposed online process for requesting absentee ballots
Steps to Certify November 8, 2022 General Election (continued)
-
Scott Daisher produced a report of final election results which the Board approved. Board members, Director and Deputy Director signed all certifications, which will be sent to the Ohio Secretary of State for final approval.
-
In total, 751 additional ballots were examined and 631 of those were accepted and added to the unofficial results.
Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 3:08 pm.
Next Meeting - Dec 13, 2022 at 9:30 am. Post-election audit is open to the public.
Approved Minutes: shared online through October 20, 2022 here: https://boelections.geauga.oh.gov/Board-Minutes
See BOE social media posts: https://www.facebook.com/geaugaboe
Observer: Shelly Lewis
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
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.