MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners on Tuesday approved spending $66,000 in capital funds to improve and better secure the local Board of Elections office.
The unanimous vote came during a meeting with Director Matt Finfgeld and Deputy Director Jane Zimmermann.
Funds will be used to better secure the offices from the public lobby, purchase new office equipment reorganize the site at 1495 W. Longview Ave.
Work is expected to begin immediately after the Aug. 8 special election and be complete before the November general election, Finfgeld said.
Costs will be broken down into the following categories:
— $31,000 to Ritter’s Office Outfitters for desks, cubicles and workstations.
— $22,000 to Kastran Karpets Inc. to carpet the main office, early voting room/lower classroom and small offices off of the equipment room that used to occupied by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District.
— $10,000 to J&B Equipment & Supply for plexiglass and door to secure the office.
— $2,500 to Quality Countertops for countertops.
— $500 for miscellaneous costs associated with rewiring computers and printers in the office.
Finfgeld and Zimmermann said improved security was essential.
“We moved the counter and there will be a full glass door with a key swipe that employees will have to swipe to to get in,” Finfgeld said. “There’ll also be plexiglass up somewhat similar to the treasurer’s office (so) someone just can’t come over the counter.
Zimmermann said, “Apparently we’re wide open. We have people walking back into our office right now.”
She said the Office of Homeland Security recommended that public access to the offices be sealed off.
“There’s people that can just walk back to our (desks) right now. We don’t want to put our staff at risk like that,” Zimmermann said.
Finfgeld said changes will also make the public counter area complaint with the Americans with Disabilities Act and will make better, more efficient use of the office spaces.
Finfgeld also said polling places for the Aug. 8 special election will be consolidated into 16 locations.
“It helps us on staffing the polls (that day),” Finfgeld said, adding the special election was added after financial budgets for 2023 were approved.
(Click above to download a PDF showing polling locations for the Aug. 8 special election.)
Commissioners said they were hopeful the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office would reimburse counties for the unscheduled special election.
A GOP-supported state law took effect in April made a number of changes to voting, including banning most August special elections.
But on May 10, Republican lawmakers approved a statewide vote in August to decide on a resolution that would raise the bar needed to amend the Ohio Constitution.
Republicans want voters to raise the threshold for approving future amendments to the Ohio Constitution to 60 percent from the current simple majority.
That would come before a proposed November ballot measure to codify abortion rights in the constitution. A group of doctors and citizens is currently gathering signatures to put an abortion rights amendment on the November ballot.
