Boards of elections in Mahoning and Trumbull counties will be ready for the May 3 primary, even with the delays in getting state legislative and congressional maps approved, their directors say.

But if the Ohio Supreme Court rules that any of the maps are unconstitutional, the primary will have to be postponed, they say.

“It’s going to be tough to be ready, but we’ll do it,” Stephanie Penrose, Trumbull’s elections director, said. “We always come through. The time is so short. We would normally be proofing ballots right now, and we’re not.”

She added: “It can be done. Is it ideal? No, it’s not. We’re already behind. We’ll get what need to get done. We’ve faced adversity before.”

Thomas McCabe, Mahoning’s elections director, said: “We’ve been preparing like it’s May 3 all along. We’re going to be OK.”

Absentee ballots for Ohioans overseas and in the military must be ready by March 18.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose had asked the U.S. Department of Defense for a waiver to have the ballots be ready by April 5, the first day of early voting. But on Friday, the DOD denied the request so those ballots must be prepared by March 18.

In 2018, the last statewide election, 1,074 overseas and military ballots were counted.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission approved a congressional map last Wednesday. It approved state legislative maps Feb. 24.

That is months later than other years following the decennial census that leads to redistricting.

The legislative and congressional maps are under review by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The court already has rejected two sets of legislative maps and a congressional map drawn by Republicans, saying they were unconstitutional because of gerrymandering.

TWO PRIMARIES?

If the court strikes down any of the maps again, Penrose and McCabe said it would be impossible to have all of the candidates on the May 3 primary ballot.

“If they get rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court, either they’ll have to move the whole primary back or have two different primaries,” McCabe said. “Two different primaries is not ideal. Try hiring 800 to 900 poll workers and finding facilities for two primaries.”

McCabe said: “Our biggest concern with doing two primaries is the cost and the logistics. My preference is if the court rules against the maps is to delay the primary. Just give us one and push it back.”

Penrose said: “It becomes impossible for May 3 if the court rejects any of the maps. It’s still subject to litigation so we’ll see how that goes. The court accepting the maps is the biggest challenge. The maps need to be accepted, or they need to postpone the primary. It’s hard to say how long it would need to be postponed because the court hasn’t made a decision.”

The Ohio Association of Elected Officials last week wrote state officials asking them to “consider delaying the May 3 primary for all contests. Our strong preference has always been to hold the election on the day it was originally scheduled. However, we feel obligated to share our concerns about the consequences of maintaining our current course.”

The letter was written by Brian Sleeth, its president and director of the Warren County Board of Elections, and Sherry Poland, first vice president and Hamilton County Board of Elections director.

“Our ability to administer a fair and accurate election has been compromised,” they wrote. “Critical functions such as ballot proofing and testing of equipment will necessarily be delayed and then rushed. The result will likely be mistakes in the election. This is not how we want to do business, but it is the only option currently left open to us. This confluence of circumstances causes grave concerns on the part of election officials.”

DELAY OPPOSED

Republican legislators have opposed delaying the May 3 primary.

The state Legislature has the sole legal authority to set the dates of primaries and its members “have made it abundantly clear that the 2022 primary is to be held May 3,” LaRose said.

LaRose said he “communicated to the legislative leaders the risks associated with rushing this process. Elections officials across Ohio are concerned about the compressed timeline for candidate certification, ballot preparation and the programming and testing of voting equipment. These are serious concerns, but our directive is clear.”

LaRose said: “I recognize the tremendous challenges facing our county boards of elections given the incredibly short timeline and the myriad preparations and procedures that must be satisfied before the May 3 primary election.”

While having the primary on May 3 “will be difficult,” LaRose said, “I am confident that our tested, professional county boards will do everything within their power to execute on what we have all been instructed to do.”

An amendment proposed by Democrats to postpone the primary until June 21 recently was rejected in the Ohio House by the Republican majority.

House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said Republicans talking about not moving the primary from May 3 is “political posturing” because the maps are being challenged in the state Supreme Court.

The state Legislature also recently agreed to provide $9 million in funding to the state’s 88 county boards of elections to help manage the work needed to prepare for the May 3 primary.

“They desperately need these additional resources to make it happen,” LaRose said.

Poland said: “While money won’t solve all the issues we are facing, the ability to hire additional staff and pay overtime costs will undoubtedly help boards run a more secure and accurate election.”