Date of Meeting: 9/20/0024
Format: In-person
Meeting Summary:
Chair Denise Smith opened the meeting by reviewing the format for BOE meetings. The public comment section is provided as a courtesy. It is not intended to be a conversation with the board, and the board will not respond. Each individual has three minutes for each meeting. Terry Taylor spoke during the public comment section. He recognized BOE members' dual roles and that the lines are sometimes blurred. He referred to Amanda Suffecool's role as BOE member and Chair of the Portage County Republican Party. Mr. Taylor was concerned about voter intimation and security. His three minutes expired before he could complete his remarks.
Minutes of the August 19 and September 3 meetings were approved, as were voucher numbers 7719 through 7735.
The logic and accuracy testing for UOCAVA (military) ballots was successful. Those ballots will be mailed today (9/20/24) and contain the updated language for Issue 1. The board recognized and thanked the outstanding work of the staff, who had to update the ballots in a very short period of time following the court decision about the language.
As of 9/19/24, there were 109,640 registered voters in Portage County. Applying the statuary formula, 114,110 physical ballots will be required. That number may change as voter registration is still open.
Based on the above-registered voter numbers, 75 DS200, 451 Express Vote, 136 poll pads, and 650 tabletops will be required.
The board revised the BOE meeting calendar because of the expedited schedule for reporting federal election results. The new calendar will be posted on the website.
Board members and staff will attend the Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO) conference in Columbus in January 2025.
Ms. Clites reported on a meeting of the OAEO legislative committee, which was called to address the Secretary of State's new directive on outside ballot boxes. The association had several questions and concerns about the directive, which they passed on to the Secretary of State's office in the hopes that a new directive would be published that would incorporate the recommendations.
The required bi-annual review of the BOE Office Security Plan was discussed. Dates on each page were recommended so readers could be confident they were reading the current version. The plan was also updated to reflect that all staff have been trained on using Narcan properly. The revised plan was approved unanimously.
Portage Count's Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan was updated to incorporate personnel changes in the addendum.
Ms. Clites made a motion that the section on security in the BOE's Election Manual for 2024 be changed to use either the Ravenna police or the private security firm that currently provides daytime security for the PC Administration Building instead of the sheriff's office for after-hours poll worker training and early voting. During the discussion, it was pointed out that since the sitting sheriff is on the ballot, voters might feel more comfortable with a different organization providing the security. Questions were raised about additional costs with such a change. The motion passed with members Smith, Clites, and Daniels voting in favor and Suffecool voting against it.
The "other party candidate" for Vice President, Anita Rios, withdrew her candidacy, but it was too late to remove it from the ballot. The Jill Stein/Anita Rios ticket will remain on the ballot, but votes for them will not count. Signs will be posted at the polling places. Write-in candidates do not appear on the ballot, but a list of them will be available from poll workers for those who ask.
Which members of the board/council were present: Denise Smith, Chair; Members: Randi Clites, Doria Daniels, Amanda Suffecool; BOE Director, Faith Lyons, BOE Deputy Director, Terrie Nielsen
Was there a public notice of the meeting that included the time and place of meeting: Yes
Was an agenda of the meeting or handouts available to visitors: Yes
Are minutes from previous meetings posted/available: No
Name of Observer: Jane Preston Rose