Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) - Special Meeting 09/22//2023
Meeting Info: Special Meeting on September 22, 2023 called to order at 3:00 pm in BOE Conference Room at 470 Center St, Bldg 6A, Chardon, OH, 44024. In-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. An agenda and itemized listing of expenses was provided to attendees. This Observer attended virtually.
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), Nancy McArthur and Joan Windnagel. Janet Carson was absent.
Staff Attendance: Geauga BOE Director Michelle Lane and Deputy Director Nora McGinnis and Office Administrator Scott Daisher (who left at 3:30 pm).
Other Officials - ShoMore DeNiro-Wright - NE Regional Liaison at Ohio Secretary of State (virtual)
Public Attendance: 2 virtual attendees.
Minutes - BOE approved minutes for August 28, 2023 Special meeting/Hearing and September 14, 2023 Special Board Meeting.
Payment of Bills: The Board approved payment of routine bills.
Ballot Bids - Several bids were received printing of the 2-sided ballots; The Board voted to approve awarding the bid to Youngstown Lettershop, ordering 69,200 ballots @ .27 each. It was stated by Chair Pavella that they had done a great job in the past. It was also stated that they would order more if needed.
Possible Bainbridge Polling Locations - Director Lane reviewed the situation with the voting at Bainbridge Town Hall. They currently do not have access to this space for voting as it has been deemed unsafe due to roof issues. Staff looked at several locations including the UCC Church and the Bainbridge Library. Both locations would accept all three precincts. Mr. Daisher reviewed the pros and cons of each location.
-
Bainbridge UCC location - Mr. Daisher said that the UCC Church had an advantage as it is across from Bainbridge Town Hall. It was adequate in size and could handle all three locations. He said it was a little outdated and although it had enough electrical outlets, they would need to run extension cords. The pre-voting storage would be in their youth ministry room; There were ADA issues regarding parking and there would have to be a ramp put in to connect to the current ramp due to a gap of ½” at the bottom. His conclusion is that the real advantage of this site would be convenience since it was so close to the prior location.
-
Bainbridge Library location - Mr. Daisher said that in his opinion the Bainbridge Library location was far superior. They have sufficient power outlets on the floor so they wouldn’t have to run extension cords. There is good access, good handicapped parking, and the ramp looked adequate. It is three miles from the previous location. It would be big enough for all three precincts (B, D and G) although he noted that the Bainbridge Library is actually in C precinct. Storage would be locked and can be monitored. There would be no charge. The UCC Church said they would take whatever is contributed. Chair Pavella noted that they may be looking at a permanent location depending on what happens to the Bainbridge Town Hall.
Motion approved to change the polling location for Bainbridge precincts B,D and G to the Geauga Public Library, Bainbridge Branch. There was additional discussion to make sure that the wording was correct and Ms. McGinnis will check the Geauga County Library website.
Postcards will go out notifying voters of the change in polling location. There was a brief discussion of where the vote will be in March, and it was decided that if it is not the Bainbridge Library in March, they would send out postcards again. They will notify public officials.
Public Test Date - If test ballots are in on time, the test would be October 4th and 5th. Early Voting starts after that. Staff will notify the Board about the date.
Budget Hearing - The County Departmental budget hearing for the Board of Elections will be next Tuesday (September 26) from 12:20 - 12:50 pm. Ms. Lane stated that nothing has changed. They were turned down for purchase of the vehicle they requested, but will be allowed a rental. They were also turned down for purchase of a mailing machine. They did receive approval for the voting booths. Staff and Ms. McGinnis will attend.
Ms. Lane called Adrian Gorton, County Finance Manager, about the budget. She asked him what they could do if they run out of money due to unforeseen expenses of moving into the new County Building. He said they would make it work. All agreed that the Mediator between the Board of Elections and the Board of County Commissioners had made that clear.
Reviewer Comment: see Consent Decree filed May 26, 2023 for settlement terms of the legal action taken by BOE against BOCC to ensure the new space in the County Office Building meets requirements for executing elections as set forth by the Ohio Secretary of State.
Postage Machine Purchase – This purchase had been tabled at the prior meeting due to the fact that the terms of the maintenance contract were not clear. This has been cleared up and the maintenance contract will be the same for all three years. Kristen Rine from the Prosecutor’s office had reviewed and signed off on the purchase. The purchase price is $11,505 and it will take 10-12 days to be delivered.
The Board approved the purchase
Director’s Report - Ms. Lane reported:
-
she has been spending a lot of time on paperwork and that she had also spoken with Mr. Gorton about the budget (as noted above)
-
Finally today they completed the fiber security contract. She said everyone now needs to complete the cyber security training by Oct. 6; they all received the link
-
She is going to bring part-timers in to go over processes, absentee ballots and counter procedures
-
An item in the new County Office Building was discussed. There is one door handle 13” higher. There had been a suggestion to prop it open but Ms. Lane (with the Board’s agreement) did not see that as a viable solution. Board approved a motion to give their opinion that an automatic door opener should be installed for that door.
-
Homeland Security visited the offices. Ms. Lane said it was quite intimidating. They tested for four days. Ms. McGinnis had a conversation with them about security. They told her that security was tight, locked down. Ms.McArthur said, “our security has come a long way.”
-
Director also reported that they got a letter about fentanyl having been received in Washington State by two Boards of Elections in the mail. She noted that they need to be careful.
Deputy Director Report - Ms. McGinnis reported:
-
They have been proofing ballots and getting postage.
-
They got the Minutes updated and loaded. She said staff are getting more familiar with doing this work on the website.
-
She spoke with Deputy County Administrator, Linda Burhenne, regarding two workstations. They will also need to purchase one additional counter for the back. In the Counter area, there is a problem and the sliding glass on the current counter will need to be moved. The window needs to be moved toward staff (as shown in the newest drawing). There is not enough space on the customer side of the glass. This change was in the Agreement. She stated that it would be nice to have the counter continuous, although this was not in the agreement.
-
They worked on a booklet regarding Absentee ballot procedures, which has been completed.
Winter Conference - There was a discussion about the winter conference and different breakouts.
Veterans Day Holiday - There was discussion about the possibility that staff will have to work on Veterans Day if there are a lot of provisional ballots and they are required to do so by the State. It was suggested that if this occurs, the staff could be permitted to take a different day off in place of Veterans Day. No decision was made.
Reviewer Comment: voters have 4 days after the Nov 7, 2023 election to cure any deficiencies in provisional or absentee ballots. Per Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2023-17, (p. 5) because Nov 11, 2023 is an officially recognized federal holiday and BOE offices will be closed, the deadline to cure deficiencies has been extended to November 13, 2023. The deadline for Geauga BOE to receive a properly postmarked absentee ballot has been extended to Nov 13, 2023, for the same reason.
Meeting Adjourned at 3:49 pm
Following the adjournment, there was some discussion about the punch list for the County Office Building and security cameras for the ballot box.
No Public Comment Requested or Given
Next Meeting - Next regular meeting is scheduled for October 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM.
Approved Minutes - posted on the BOE website.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
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.