Chairman says moving Mahoning County Board of Elections is top priority

MAHONING CO., Ohio (WKBN) — At the pre-election meeting of the Mahoning County Board of Elections Monday, Chairman Dave Betras announced it was time to move.

"I am now firmly convinced this building is useless for us. We must move this Board of Elections. It is top priority," Betras said.

Sunday was the last day for early voting. People were lined up down the sidewalk at the Board of Election's current location. Betras was most upset about the parking.

"People shouldn't have to wait for a parking space for God's sakes, to vote in early vote. I could see them waiting in line because they get backed up but they shouldn't have to wait in their car to get a parking spot. That's unacceptable," said Betras.

Betras did not say specifically where he would move — only that it needs to have bus service, easy access and plenty of parking.

"We're done with this building. We're so done with this building," he said.

Betras was also critical of the Akron-based company ElectionIQ for not providing the ballots needed for early voting.

"The law says we're to use the best and lowest. Certainly, ElectionIQ was the lowest but they certainly were the worst and I'll say that on the record and they can sue me all they want. No one should hire ElectionIQ," Betras said.

While Betras was critical of the vendor, he praised Director Tom McCabe and Deputy Director Melissa Wasko for hiring a new printer and getting the absentee ballots mailed.

"We owe both of you a great deal of gratitude for moving as quickly as you did, for moving as decisively as you did and for remedying an otherwise huge problem that was not of our creation," Betras said.

It was also announced at the meeting that 52,000 people have already voted early or by absentee. 163,000 are registered to vote which means one-third of Mahoning County voters have already cast a ballot.

Director Tom McCabe is expecting another 65,000 to 70,000 voters Tuesday or 330 per precinct. McCabe does not expect long lines tomorrow.