Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) - 06/15/2023
Meeting Info: Regular Meeting on June 15, 2023 called to order about 9:08 AM in BOE Conference Room at 470 Center St, Bldg 6A, Chardon, OH, 44024. In-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. An agenda and listing of bills was provided in advance. This Observer attended in person.
Public Comment Policy: No written policy and not listed on agenda. In practice, the Board accepts public comment and addresses questions throughout the meeting.
Board Attendance: Present were Dennis Pavella (Chair), Janet Carson, Nancy McArthur and Joan Windnagel.
Staff Attendance: Director Michelle Lane, Deputy Director Nora McGinnis, and at times Office Administrator Scott Daisher.
County Representatives: Charles E. Walder, Auditor and Chief Administrator of ADP
Public Attendance: Four members of the public attended in person and a fifth arrived mid-meeting. No virtual attendees.
Minutes - APPROVED May 18 and May 23, 2023 minutes. Mrs. Carson abstained due to absence.
Bills - APPROVED bills totaling $11,770.91, which included $9,227.76 for equipment purchased through a $10,000 security grant, $1,087.78 for training manuals, $646.45 for election set up for the May 2 Primary election and other routine office expenses.
ADP Briefing - Mr. Walder indicated an ADP team will visit the BOE offices in the new County Office Building, which are currently undergoing renovations as ordered in the mediated Settlement Agreement. He reported that the migration to Microsoft 365 email server finished up this morning and went well - a sentiment shared by Mr. Pavella. Walder assured the Board that ADP will be fully supportive during the move to the County Office Building. He noted that the Board is bipartisan and commended their ability to work together for the benefit of the public.
Updates & Discussions:
August 8th Special Election Ballot Language - Mrs. Lane reported staff are updating revised ballot language ordered by the Ohio Supreme Court, drafted by the Ohio Ballot Board and reflected in Secretary of State Directive 2023-11, dated June 13, 2023.
Observer Comment: Absentee ballots must be printed and ready to send to military and overseas voters by June 23, 2023.
Reviewer Comment: It was subsequently reported that the Secretary of State initially sent Boards of Elections incorrect ballot language. Corrected language was sent on June 20, 2023.
August 8th Special Election Planning
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Mrs. Lane reported they are having difficulty recruiting poll workers.
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She also said two locations have been consolidated and they haven’t heard anything yet about Burton Town Hall. Deadline for mailing postcards notifying voters of a change in polling location is July 7.
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Mrs. Carson inquired about the timeline for completion of a construction project on Washington Street in Auburn Township, as the road closure may impact access to Adam Hall, the only polling location for Auburn Township.
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Mrs. McGinnis reported 390 absentee ballot applications had been received thus far along with 3 requests by overseas and military voters.
Secretary of State Summer Conference, June 27/28 - tax exempt forms were distributed to Board members. To date, there still isn’t an agenda for the conference.
Ballot Bids - staff will finalize ballots using updated language and then will seek 3 bids for printing ballots for the August 8 Special Election.
High Speed Printer and High Speed Copier Replacement - decision within one month
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Mrs. Lane reported that both items are at the end of their useful lives.
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Additionally, ADP notified them that security alerts had been received on the high speed printer so that device has been disconnected and is no longer in use.
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ADP to procure the items for BOE, as part of their efforts to standardize equipment purchases throughout the county.
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The Prosecutor’s Office will no longer approve lease agreements and instead recommends purchases with 5 year maintenance contracts.
National Change of Address (NCOA) - Mrs. Lane reported 1,444 letters were sent.
Observer Note: NCOA is part of the voter records maintenance efforts required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. See Ohio Election Officials Manual, Chapter 4, p. 124.
Hambden Township Trustee - board members signed the Certificate of Appointment for Robert Kandra, newly appointed Township Trustee.
Motions
Policy and Procedure Manual Updates - APPROVED. Updated language to reflect Mr. Daisher’s role as the Office Administrator and added the Juneteenth holiday.
Public Test Date - APPROVED. After consulting with Mr. Daisher, July 6 at 10AM was selected. Public testing of the DS200 scanner and DS450 high speed printer by bipartisan teams is mandated by the Secretary of State in preparation for the August 8 Special Election. Members of the public confirmed that the testing is open to the public.
July 3rd Holiday - APPROVED. Consistent with actions of other Geauga County departments, the board elected to close their offices on Monday, July 3, 2023. Staff will use accumulated comp time.
Public Comment
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A member of the public inquired what the Board of Elections is doing to “get the word out” about the August 8th Special Election. She suggested sharing messages on digital message boards like the one in Chardon.
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Mrs. Lane said they are making all of the required notifications to local newspapers and noted people don’t read newspapers like they used to.
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Mr. Pavella commented that actions taken by the General Assembly restrict BOE’s ability to work with other parties to share information about elections.
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Mrs. Windnagel said that the General Assembly now forbids the Secretary of State from mailing every Ohio registered voter an Absentee Ballot Application. She noted that for many voters, receipt of that mailing signaled there was an election coming up.
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All were encouraged to contact their elected representatives in the General Assembly to express their concerns.
Executive Session - at 10:22 AM the Board entered into executive session under 121.22(G)(1) to consider compensation of a public employee(s). Mrs. Lane and Mrs. McGinnis were invited to participate. At that point, the in-person guests departed and this Observer opted to wait in the lobby. Regular session resumed around 11:28 AM.
The Board approved numerous changes to staff pay to reflect a 5% pay raise, the change in Mr. Daisher’s role and to align the Director and Deputy Director salaries. The hourly rate for part-time employees was increased to $18 per hour. All changes will go into effect during the next pay period.
Director’s Report - Mrs. Lane reported:
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She reviewed the 2024 Budget with Adrian Gorton, Finance Manager for the Board of County Commissioners. BOCC has excluded their request for a letter opener machine in the current budget but has approved their request for voting booths.
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There have been some issues with phones not working and she has reported the problem to Mike Adams at ADP.
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About 4,500 postcards will be sent to Chardon and Burton voters notifying them of a change in polling location.
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The mail postage machine must be replaced before the November election. This must be procured through ADP as the machine is connected to the county network.
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They received a letter of resignation from the Republican Registration Clerk. The position will be immediately posted.
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The 95 poll pads that arrived with deficient battery packs and trays have been repaired. The vendor has agreed to loan the devices to BOE for the August 8th election.
Observer Comment - BOE’s across the state are waiting for the General Assembly to deliver on their promise to fund replacement of poll pads deemed out of date by the Secretary of State.
Deputy Director’s Report - Mrs. McGinnis reported:
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She has been compiling information for the website content.
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She and a representative from ADP met with the cyber security liaison from the Secretary of State’s office.
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She has been attending ADP Board meetings.
Public Comment, Part 2 - this Observer made numerous inquiries, as follows:
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Inquired about the timing of moving to the new County Administrative Building. Mr. Pavella said the move will not take place before 2024, as there are numerous changes that must be made to the space first. Plus the timing of the August 8th election doesn’t leave them time to move before the November election.
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Noted that the General Assembly map on display in the lobby is out of date. Staff indicated it will be taken down.
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Sought clarification about payment for the poll pads and was told the loan from the vendor buys them time to hopefully receive promised funds from the General Assembly.
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Encouraged Geauga BOE to work with the League of Women Voters of Geauga to present information sessions about the changes in voting laws and voter ID requirements to the community. Noted that the Portage BOE had recently offered numerous information sessions that the LWV of Kent had supported. Clarified that LWVG is not permitted to work individually with political parties.
The meeting adjourned at 12:07 PM.
Next Meeting - Next regular meeting is scheduled for July 20, 2023 at 9:00 AM. Special meeting on June 29, 2023 to consider ballot bids/printer purchase and on July 6, 2023 at 10 AM for required public test of voting equipment.
Approved Minutes - Temporarily unavailable online while the website is updated.
See BOE Facebook page for meeting notices and agendas.
Observer: Shelly Lewis
Editor: Anne Ondrey
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.