BOE Expects Especially Long November Ballot
Due to the Large Number of Levies Filed
Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) Regular Meeting - July 16, 2026
Meeting Info - Regular Meeting on July 16, 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
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Board Member - Janet Carson
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Director - Tyler Plants
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Deputy Director - Nora McGinnis
County Representatives: Frank Antenucci, Deputy Chief Administrator & Chief Information Security Officer, Automated Date Processing (ADP) and Ron Weigle, Maintenance Director.
Others: Online, Sharon Gingerich. In person, Ohio Secretary of State (SoS) Regional Liaison Dustin Russell, a member of the public and this Observer. After the second executive session, only this Observer was in attendance.
Call to Order – The meeting was called to order shortly after 9:00 am.
Minutes – Minutes for the Regular Meeting on June 18, 2026, were approved without edits. Minutes for the Special Meeting on July 9, 2026, were approved after a correction. Mrs. Carson requested a change in the statement: “Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Rine, rendered an opinion to the Board,” noting that the opinion was sent only to three Board members. She did not receive a copy. She stated that, “The Board has requested all opinions go to all members of the Board. I want it noted in the Minutes that she did not comply with that request.” The Board unanimously approved a motion to amend the Minutes to read, “Mrs. Windnagel said the Prosecuting Attorney, Kristen Rine, rendered an opinion to three members of the Board.”
Payment of Bills – Invoices totaling $8,948.97 were approved unanimously and included:
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$28.94 to Quill for kitchen supplies
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$146.77 to Quill for copy paper/color paper
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$28.25 to DEX Imaging for the copier contract 5/25-6/24/26
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$258.00 to Karlovec Media Group for Voter Registration Supervisor ad - Maple Leaf 2 weeks
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$685.00 to 21st Century Media for Voter Registration Supervisor ad - News Herald
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$275.00 to Times-Solon-Currents for Voter Registration Supervisor ad - Chagrin Valley Times 6/25
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$275.00 to Times-Solon-Currents for Voter Registration Supervisor ad - Chagrin Valley Times 7/2
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$351.50 to Quadient for 2 ink cartridge postage machines
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$450.00 to Quadient for quarterly maintenance 8/1/26-10/31/26
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$99.50 to Guardian Alarm for monitoring July 2026
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$204.79 to Verizon Wireless for emergency cell phones July 2026
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$40.69 to Nora McGinnis for reimbursement for 1000 Precinct Election Official (PEO) 4-up postcards
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$241.83 to Nora McGinnis for reimbursement for mileage and registration fee for CLE Richfield conference
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$169.90 to A. Rifkin Co. for 1000 red short seals
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$5,693.00 to Triad Governmental Systems for the campaign finance system
Mr. Piraino asked if there would be any more election system bills. Mr. Plants said that they will be authorizing payment for a scanner for about $1,000.00, which includes the equipment and a one-day training for staff. He said Triad had been very responsive to the small issues they had had and hoped the information would be up on the website by August or September.
Report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) – Mr. Antenucci reported they will start preparing next month for the November election cycle and follow the same 90-day cycle used in the past. Mr. Pavella said they plan to have a meeting in September with all the election participants. Mr. Antenucci said ADP will have their plan to the Board before that meeting so that it can be discussed.
Mr. Pavella asked about progress replacing the windows in the election office. Mr. Weigle said they were having trouble with the glass vendor and had contacted a different one and were moving forward as quickly as possible. Mr. Pavella emphasized that they need to complete the job so as not to lose the grant money from the State. Observer Note: The Secretary of State provided grant funds to be used for physical security at the BOE. Geauga is using the grant to replace the windows at the voting lobby counter with higher rated safety/security glass.
Mrs. Carson said she was having trouble getting Board emails on her phone on the county account. Mr. Antenucci arranged for a staff member to come to the meeting to fix it which occurred during a “tech break” later in the meeting immediately before the first executive session.
Mr. Antenucci gave an update on the ADP employees vote to join a union and noted unionization should not have any effect on how staff works with the BOE. He reported that the employees went through the full voting process, June 16-30 and voted 20-0 to unionize. He commented that the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), who counted the votes, said they had never seen a unanimous vote for a new union before. SERB will certify the union either at their July or August meeting. After certification, ADP will immediately move into union negotiations in the hopes of having a contract established for 2027. The union would be a local chapter of the AFL-CIO.
Mr. Weigle told Mr. Antenucci that they were sad to lose ADP staff member, Andy Haines, to the Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Antenucci reassured Mr. Weigle and the BOE that they have a whole succession plan in place, and they won’t see any service disruption.
Mr. Antenucci exited the meeting at this point.
Report from BOCC Maintenance – Mr. Weigle reported that, at the recommendation of the Safety Committee, they had updated the floorplan and tested some of the panic buttons and found they were working as they should.
Mrs. Windnagel asked about the status of the poll pads “destruction.” Mr. Weigle said he had helped Katelyn Celliti, ADP Operations Coordinator, transport the poll pads to the county office building and the program should be completed in December when they receive the “certificates of destruction.” Observer Note: 95 poll pads are no longer in service and will be rendered unusable and any data contained on the devices will be appropriately destroyed. See Section 12.05 of Secretary of State Directive 2025-44, Election Equipment and Voting Systems (PDF) for more information.
Mr. Weigle stated that they are “whittling away” at clearing the previous BOE location at 470 Center Street of furniture and other items. County entities have been given the option to select items.
Mrs. McGinnis said they had been having trouble with the double locked doors. Mr. Weigle said they are working with a locksmith to fix the problem.
Mrs. Carson asked about the status of the auxiliary parking lot planned for the BOCC. Mr. Weigle said the project had been on hold under his predecessor and they had had problems with the architectural firm signing the new agreement. The contract issues have just been resolved, and the firm is moving forward. He said bids have not gone out. The Board expressed concern that, while the parking was “not bad” during last May’s primary, parking for November’s General Election could be an issue given the expected larger turnout.
Mr. Weigle departed the meeting and Mr. Antenucci returned with an ADP staff member.
Mrs. Windnagel asked again about the status of the disposal of the poll pads. Mr. Antenucci replied that it’s in process with a December timeline for the final certificate of destruction.
Mrs. Carson asked if the building at 470 Center Street was sold. Mr. Pavella said it can’t be sold until they have a public meeting to announce its sale. In addition, they can’t sell the building until the Department of Aging moves to its new location at the current Geauga County Public Library Administration Building to be vacated after the new Chardon branch is built. The Chardon Public library branch will be built at a new location. Reviewer Note: See LWVGeauga Observer Report for May 14, 2026 for more information on the Senior Center.
Campaign Finance Report – Mr. Plants reported on behalf of Office Administrator Scott Daisher
that they had one outstanding delinquent post-election campaign report, for judicial candidate Stephanie Anderson. He said Mr. Daisher contacted the campaign who “said yes three weeks ago.” The finance report submission deadline was June 30. Mr. Plants said, as in past instances, he brought the issue to the Board because it’s their responsibility to make a motion to report it to the State. He noted the Ohio Election Integrity Commission (OEIC) mandates the delinquency be reported immediately.
Mr. Plants said Mr. Daisher did not normally reach out to campaigns but had sent reminders because he anticipated “it was going to be a big problem.”
He said the campaign had not filed a pre-election report, so the BOE assumes they haven’t gone over the $2,000 spending limit.
Mrs. Carson suggested that the Board recommend sending a certified letter to the candidate at her address, requesting the pre-report and the post-report. Mr. Plants said that without evidence of pre-election activity, he is unsure if they can request a pre-election report. Rather than ask directly for a pre-election report, Mrs. Carson proposed the letter could remind the campaign that one should be filed if funds were expended. It was agreed the same certified letter should also be mailed to the campaign treasurer.
Mr. Plants said it was the OEIC who told him the BOE should file a complaint, but it is still up to the local BOE to evaluate the situation.
After discussion, the Board voted to send certified letters to the candidate and her treasurer, requesting a pre-election report (if necessary) and a post-election report by August 1. If the report(s) are not received by the deadline, the case will be sent to the OEIC.
Observer Note: Formerly an independent commission, the Ohio Election Integrity Commission is now housed within the Office of the Secretary of State. See Secretary of State Directive 2026-17, Ohio Election Integrity Commission and Election Integrity Unit for more information.
Mr. Plants also reported that they are uploading documents to the portal and it seems to be working well. He said the goal is to upload at least two years’ worth of documents. The system vendor, Triad, has been very helpful in problem-solving. They have used part-time staff for scanning but only full-time employees for “plugging in” the information “due to the nature of what they’re doing.”
Executive Session – The Board voted by roll call to enter executive session under ORC 121.22(G)(1) to consider the evaluation/compensation of a public employee. The meeting was limited to the Board members. Upon returning to regular session at 10:30 am, the Board voted to approve 3% pay raises, effective immediately for the following staff members:
Laura Amick - $55,200.00
Scott Daisher - $73,600.00
Nora McGinnis - $82,150.00
Ramona Saikaly - $52,000.00
The Board also approved an increase in their part-time hourly rate from $19.00 to $20.00.
Executive Session - The Board voted by roll call to enter executive session under ORC 121.22(G)(1) on employment of a public official. Board members, the Director and Deputy Director attended the meeting in which they interviewed candidates for the Voter Registration Supervisor position. No action was taken upon return to regular session at 12:39 pm.
Mr. Pavella said they would try to act on this item at the Special Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 4 at 9:00 am.
Mr. Russell had departed the meeting for another appointment prior to the return to regular session.
Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO) Northeast Regional Meeting – Mr. Plants reminded the Board about the upcoming meeting which will be held Friday, August 7th in Sandusky. He said he will register Board members as soon as he gets the registration forms. Most of the Board members said they planned to attend, as did Mr. Plants.
Director’s Report – Tyler Plants reported:
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As staff were running the voting list, they found “quite a few” people who had asked for Libertarian ballots and were now registered as Libertarians. He asked for the Board’s views on using these voters as poll workers. The Board said they don’t usually have a problem finding poll workers and didn’t think they needed to use them unless there were a problem. It was also noted that having a single Libertarian worker would throw off the balance of having equal numbers of Republican and Democrat workers, which is required. The Board said they could revisit that decision if necessary. Mr. Plants said he would share this information with staff to guide their work.
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They are anticipating a very long ballot (perhaps up to 17 inches) in November as many entities have already filed levy requests and more are expected. Among the entities who will have issues on the ballot are: Auburn, Riverside Local, Burton Village, South Russell Village, Chester Township, Hamden, and Montville Township.
He noted the only state-wide issue is the General Assembly-initiated constitutional amendment on requiring voter IDs for in-person voting.
He also said that processing Berkshire School’s ballot request for an earned income tax increase from 1.0% to 1.5% was unusual as he had to sign a document confirming it had been dropped off at the BOE office. He also said Mr. Daisher sent the filing to the prosecutor’s office for review and received an “okay” from them. He noted further that it went through the Department of Taxation, not the Auditor’s office.
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The Legal Education conference was informative. He said they see a lot of legislation regarding election matters in the pipeline with one official commenting that, “this is the most legislation he’s ever seen in his 25 years at the Statehouse involving election matters.” Bills under consideration range from making election day a holiday and requiring schools to be polling places along with different voter requirements.
Mr. Plants advised the Board that he had been invited by the League of Women Voters of Geauga to speak at an upcoming meeting that will be open to the public. The Board agreed it was a good idea as long as the presentation was before early voting begins in October.
Census Project - They are continuing to collect and submit data to Ohio University for their census project. They will be checking in with them yearly and every few months sending information related to annexation, property changes and district mapping. This project is a partnership between the State and Ohio University in preparation for the 2030 census.
Updated Poll Pad Video - They met with Company 119 about the new poll pad training video. Mr. Plants said the videos they do are very professional and noted that the company had created the BOE’s promotional video for the County Fair which received an award from the State. He presented the Board with the vendor’s proposal that offered three different video options. After discussion about such issues as filming location, video narration and post-production support, the Board asked Mr. Plants to get costs for post-production changes and if using Mr. Daisher for speaking and demonstrating in the video (as he’s done for previous videos) would reduce expenses. Post-production change costs were of particular interest to the group since the poll pad video is directly impacted by legislative changes and therefore could require frequent revisions.
Mr. Plants advised that video turnaround time would be about two weeks once filming is completed. All agreed a decision needs to be made soon to ensure it’s ready for poll worker training.
Mrs. McGinnis said they have an opportunity for a $8,500 grant from the State for poll worker materials and recruitment. She noted they could use it to pay for the video and still have enough left to pay for printing the poll worker manuals.
The Board will put the issue on the agenda for the August 4 Special Meeting with the expectation of making a decision then.
Polling Location at Chardon Schools – Mr. Plants shared that Assistant Prosecutor Rine is ready to draft a letter to Chardon Schools regarding its use as a polling place and has asked for guidance on exactly what terms the Board is seeking related to space and timing. Observer Note: Chardon Schools has rebuffed BOE requests to use their facilities as a polling place. Mr. Plants said he anticipates Chardon again resisting the request. A formal letter with specific demands could make it more difficult for the school to “brush it off.”
The Board decided to request access to the building on the Monday before the election from 3:00 to 9:00 pm, all day Election Day and plan equipment pick up by noon on the Wednesday after Election Day.
There was a brief discussion about several other possible locations, but none met all the necessary criteria for such elements as space, parking and building accessibility. The Board agreed they need to find an alternative by November 2027 to replace the 470 Center Street location.
Release of Prosecutor’s July 9 Special Meeting Opinion - Mrs. Carson asked for a motion for the Board to direct Assistant Prosecutor Kristen Rine to “release the opinion she gave to the three Board members to the fourth Board member and reiterate that all opinions come to the full Board.” Observer Note: This opinion was rendered to all Board members except Mrs. Carson and advised against holding a hearing, scheduled on July 9, at which Robert Farinacci expected to provide evidence for the Board to reconsider their rejection of his judicial candidacy. The Board voted against reconsideration. See LWVG Observer Reports June 18, 2026, and July 9, 2026 for more information.
Board members debated whether Ms. Rine had acted appropriately by withholding the opinion. Mrs. Windnagel said Ms. Rine had been advised by the Secretary of State’s office not to send it, while Mr. Pavella and Mrs. Carson disputed that, saying the Secretary of State had only recommended that Mrs. Carson recuse herself. Mrs. Carson questioned the prosecutor’s impartiality and said she wanted a written legal opinion supporting that recommendation.
Mr. Pavella argued that the Board, not its legal counsel, directs the release of legal opinions with Mrs. Carson emphasizing that the Board acts collectively rather than as individual members. She added that future requests for legal opinions should clearly specify who is to receive them and should be authorized by Board motion. Mr. Plants said that neither he nor Mrs. McGinnis had gotten the opinion about the Special Meeting.
Mrs. Carson stated that Ms. Rine had told her she would release the opinion to her if the Board approved a motion. The Board then considered a motion directing Ms. Rine to send Mrs. Carson the same opinion that had already been provided to the other three board members. Mr. Piraino and Mrs. Windnagel said they would support the motion because the Board had already made its decision on the underlying issue. The motion passed unanimously.
Deputy Director – Mrs. McGinnis reported that she has been working with Mr. Plants on plans for the poll worker training video. She said they have received the paperwork for a $8,500 grant from the State to be used for poll worker education and received the Board’s approval to sign and return the request.
Mrs. McGinnis said she had attended the July 15 Ohio Election Law Continuing Legal Education training.
She also reported that she had been working on:
Adjournment – 1:24 pm
Next meeting: Special Meeting Tuesday, August 4, 9:00 am and Regular Meeting, August 20 at 9:00 am both in the BOE Conference Room at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 004 (Basement), Chardon, OH, 44024.
Observer: Rooney Moy
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Date Submitted: July 27, 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.