Elections board adds space for primary

Commissioners OK rental of next-door bank building

WARREN -- The Trumbull County Board of Elections again will rent a vacant building at 2911 Youngstown Warren Road for early voting, but a date for the primary election remains up in the air.

Trumbull County Commissioners Frank Fuda, Niki Frenchko and Mauro Cantalamessa on Wednesday unanimously approved renting the former bank building directly next to the board of elections for $7,600, including utilities.

The rental agreement approved Wednesday is for 45 days prior to the election until 10 days after, which means the board of elections can move in immediately if the primary is happening May 3 as scheduled, but it is unlikely that will be the case.

Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to move the May 3 primary election to June 28 as the shape of Ohio House and Ohio Senate districts remain undetermined.

After three failed attempts to create new districts, the seven-member panel went back to the drawing boards again Wednesday. The court rejected the first versions of the maps, ruling in a 4-3 vote each time that the plans were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans.

Now, the Trumbull County Board of Elections, like other boards across the state, is waiting for guidance on how to proceed.

"I've never encountered anything like this in my 20 years here," Stephanie Penrose, director of the county board of elections, said.

The building is owned by Bloom Land Company LLC and the agreement is contingent on that company's approval.

The board of elections used the vacant building for voting in 2020; a different owner at the time rented it to the board for just less than $6,000, according to Penrose.

"It was wonderful," Penrose said. "You know, the proximity to our building -- we can go over there and troubleshoot, help out, whatever we need."

Edrea Mientkiewicz, deputy director of the board of elections, told county commissioners at their meeting Wednesday that this will be a large election and the board of elections building has only one public entrance for those coming in and out, plus it has structural problems such as leaks in the roof. In the 2020 election, the former bank building better accommodated social distancing and allowed for a one-way flow of traffic, she said.

"When we used this building in the 2020 election, we were commended as one of the leading counties in the state as to how we handled the election process," Cantalamessa said.

Early voting will begin April 5 if the May election date does not change. If that is the case, the board of elections will need to move into the rented building and "get the place in shape" quickly, according to Penrose.

Penrose said the board of elections has ballots with every race ready to print, and races can easily be pulled off if needed.

Military and overseas voting would have begun last Friday, but as of now, ballots are now supposed to go out no later than April 5, Penrose said. The possibility of a split primary has come under debate.

Penrose said strictly in her opinion, the most logical move would be to "shove everything back to one election at a later date," rather than hold two primaries.

She said finding poll workers for a second primary election would be difficult, and the whole process would be costly -- she estimated that it costs around $100,000 for poll workers in Trumbull County, and that doesn't take into account the cost of printing ballots, renting buildings, advertising and overtime pay.

A second election also likely would have low voter turnout, but Penrose would have to prepare for normal turnout.

To voters waiting to hear what's coming next, Penrose said, "Be patient. We don't know anything right now, and we hope every day to get clarification."