Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) - 08/17/2023
Meeting Info: Regular Meeting on August 17, 2023 called to order at 9:05 AM in BOE Conference Room at 470 Center St, Bldg 6A, Chardon, OH, 44024. In-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. An agenda, itemized listing of expenses and itemized listing of campaign finance reports was provided to attendees. 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: Geauga BOE Director Michelle Lane and Deputy Director Nora McGinnis
County Representatives: Frank Antenucci - ADP, Chief Deputy Administrator (virtual)
Public Attendance: 2 virtual attendees and 5 in-person attendees, including Chardon School Board candidates Sharon Madger and Dorothy Hoffacker and Kathy Johnson, an appointed member of the Geauga County Board of Mental Health & Recovery Services.
Minutes - none presented
Bills - an itemized listing of Marshall mileage and printing costs relating to the August 8 elections was reviewed and approved.
Campaign Finance Reports - itemized lists of 106 candidate filings and 28 campaign finance reports, audited by staff, were reviewed and approved. Separate motion passed referring four campaigns (unnamed) to the Ohio Elections Commission for failure to file a campaign finance report.
Update on iPad Poll Books:
Background - From the May 18, 2023 LWVG Observer Report
On February 2, 2023, the Board agreed to replace 95 older Air2 model iPads that are unable to be updated with the latest IOS Operating System as required by the Secretary of State. The purchase from KNOWiNK included 95 iPads with tilting stand and integrated printer at a cost of $90,725, with 85% expected to be covered by state funding sources. On March 30, 2023 the Board rescinded the February 2, 2023 motion, citing operating problems noted by Mr. Daisher during his testing of the equipment.
Mr. Daisher reported that the vendor has fixed 60 units and the remaining 35 units are scheduled to be fixed on May 25. For the August 8th Special Election, 112 units will be needed. It was noted that the General Assembly has not yet provided funding to replace the outdated poll pads, which is an issue for Board of Elections offices across the entire state.
Mr. Daisher stated he had discussed the issue with the Secretary of State’s office and they indicated if the poll pads cannot be replaced in time for the August 8 Special Election that it may be necessary to go back to using the paper voter rolls. Mr. Pavella commented that he didn’t want us to go backwards and noted that the poll pads had made voter check-in much faster.
Mrs. Lane reported on her continuing efforts to procure promised General Assembly funding for the mandated replacement of their iPad poll books. She mentioned an email from Kevin Schrock, Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State. Per Mr. Schrock, poll book purchases would require an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Secretary of State. Per Mrs. Lane, neither the vendor nor the other county BOE’s had any knowledge of the new requirement.
Mr. Schrock further advised not purchasing the pollbooks until after his office completed a review of the new MOU process. Observer Comment: County BOE’s are trying to navigate conflicting requirements from the Secretary of State (SOS). They were required to replace outdated iPad pollbooks prior to the August 8 election but are not to order the iPad pollbooks until an MOU with the SOS is in place. According to Mr. Schrock, as of 8/15 that process was still under review.
Mrs. Lane noted that many county BOE’s were unable to front the cost of replacing their iPad poll books and had been forced to revert to paper poll books for the August 8 election. Mr. Pavella commented that paper pollbooks typically cause longer wait times for voters. There was discussion about the potential impact on the November 7 General Election, which is expected to have high turnout.
APPROVED - motion to pay $90,725 for the 95 iPad poll pads procured in early 2022 and successfully deployed for the August 8 election.
APPROVED - motion to order 35 additional units that are required for the November 7 General Election at a total cost of $29,925, contingent upon the MOU being completed by the SOS.
Petition Certification for Nov 7, 2023 General Election - candidate petitions were audited by BOE staff and those with filing issues were forwarded to Board Counsel Kristen Rine at the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office, for review. The Board considered Ms. Rine’s recommendations during their review of these candidate petitions, and took the following actions:
NO ACTION TAKEN on request from Kate Mitchell, candidate for West Geauga School Board to change her name on the ballot. The Board is unable to make this change but her petition was accepted as submitted.
REJECTED petition for Pam Carson, candidate for Hambden Twp Trustee - insufficient signatures, which is a fatal flaw.
REJECTED petition for Mary Anne Pierce, candidate for Middlefield Township Fiscal Officer - insufficient signatures, which is a fatal flaw.
REJECTED petition for Barbara Raymond, candidate for Cardinal School Board. Signatures on two petitions were rendered invalid due to the Nominating area of the submission being blank. This resulted in the candidate having insufficient signatures - a fatal flaw.
Observer Comment: candidates whose petitions are rejected are not permitted to run as write-in candidates.
ACCEPTED petition for Benito A Alvarez, candidate for West Geauga School Board. Circulator failed to print the circulator’s name in the circulator statement, which is not a fatal flaw.
ACCEPTED petition for Deborah Chuah, candidate for Chardon City Council. Election date was left blank, which is not a fatal flaw.
ACCEPTED petition for Kathy Leavenworth, candidate for West Geauga School Board. Election date was left blank, which is not a fatal flaw.
ACCEPTED petition from Sam Morrow, candidate for Middlefield Village Council. One petition was ruled invalid due to a signature being in the wrong place. However, the candidate still submitted more than the required number of signatures.
ACCEPTED petition for Keith Strever, candidate for Cardinal School Board. 2 signatures were invalid but the candidate still had sufficient signatures.
ACCEPTED petition for Andrea Clark, candidate for Chardon School Board. Signatures on one petition were rendered invalid due to failure to sign the declaration. Remaining signatures were sufficient.
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Mrs. McArthur referenced a Facebook post by Ms. Clark asking members of the community to sign her petition, which was placed on a table on her front porch.
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Mrs. Carson noted additional comments by Ms. Clark stating that her Ring video camera alerted her when someone arrived and that she personally witnessed the petition signatures, as is required.
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A virtual attendee commented that 2 citizens called the BOE and were informed that a complaint had been filed and sent to the County Prosecutor. Mr. Pavella responded, saying that was not true as the complaint process cannot begin until a petition has been approved by the Board. He said they would follow up with staff to ensure they understand the process.
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Mr. Pavella then presented a letter protesting Ms. Clark’s petition, which had been filed by Dorothy Hoffacker prior to the Board’s certification vote. Mr. Pavella explained that a protest may only be filed after the board certifies the petition. Mrs. Hoffacker was provided a copy of her original filing and advised of the August 25th deadline to file a protest.
ACCEPTED letter of withdrawal for Dorothy Hoffacker, candidate for Chardon School Board.
ACCEPTED the remaining petitions
Observer Note: The certified candidates can be found on the Board of Elections website here.
Certification of Issues for the November 7, 2023 General Election - issue submissions were reviewed by staff. Approved unanimously. Reviewer Note: Certified issues for November 7, 2023 can be found here.
Short recess: during the break, a virtual attendee inquired how to find out which seats are open. Advice provided by Mr. Pavella and Mrs. Lane.
Reviewer Note: Regarding write-in candidates for the November 7, 2023 General Election, the Secretary of State Candidate Guide (page 19) states that: “Any person wanting to be a write-in candidate must file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. Only write-in candidates who have filed a valid declaration of intent will have votes counted in the election.” The filing deadline for the November election to be a write-in candidate is 4 p.m. on August 28, 2023 (72 days before the general election) (R.C. 3513.041).
ADP Briefing - Mr. Antenucci reported that he has observed a lot of work being done in the BOE space at the County Administration Building. He commented they must have received updates about the progress being made. The Board members and staff responded that they had not received any updates but were scheduled to meet with Assistant Administrator Linda Burhenne and to tour the space with Administrator Gerard Morgan.
Mr. Antenucci spoke highly of Mrs. Burhenne and commented that ADP has been “moving the needle with Linda.”
Mrs. Lane agreed that Mrs. Burhenne appeared to be amenable to getting things done but expressed concern about whether she has been fully briefed about BOE’s situation. She and the rest of the Board expressed concern about expectations for when BOE will move to the new location. Because of Secretary of State requirements they will be unable to move until after the May, 2024 Primary Election.
Board members discussed the County Commissioners’ recent comments about selling the 470 Center Street property. They noted the Department on Aging is now a tenant, along with CASA, and that a commercial kitchen had recently been installed in building 8.
Mrs. McArthur and Mrs. Carson commented that the new website is not mobile friendly. Mrs. McGinnis said they have training soon and will work out issues.
APPROVED poll worker payroll for the August 8 election up to $55,000.
APPROVED ballot quantities of 100% of registered voters + 1% for November 7 election
APPROVED list of poll workers for the coming year and gave permission for Mrs. Lane or Mrs. McGinnis to modify the list as needed.
DISCUSSED changes to poll worker pay rates. To be considered at the next meeting.
Director’s Report - Mrs. Lane reported:
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New phones have been installed.
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She has been working with Ron Leyde at the Auditor’s office on accounting for a security grant and the August 8 election.
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Their budget hearing before the Commissioners is scheduled for Sep 26 at 12:20 pm
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They have been packing up from the August 8 election and preparing for the Audit.
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Both Heritage House and Building 8 will be available as polling locations on November 7.
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They are having difficulty scheduling training space in the new County Administration Building.
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They are formulating a plan to accommodate expected heavy early voting turnout for the November 7 election.
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She is working on a “ballots for kids” program for kids who accompany adults to the polls.
Certification of August 8 Election - provisional ballots, absentee ballots received after election day and religious objections will be reviewed by the Board during the August 28th, 9 am meeting to certify the August 8 election. Mrs. McGinnis noted 435 provisional ballots were cast.
Public Comment - during the meeting, this Observer sought clarity about the petitions examined. A virtual attendee inquired about open seats.
The meeting adjourned at 11:25 AM.
Next Meeting - Next meeting is scheduled for August 28, 2023 at 9:00 AM and will include Certification of the August 8 Special Election.
Approved Minutes - posted on the BOE website.
Observer: Shelly Lewis
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
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