Discussions are continuing over where Toledo area voters will be able to cast their early ballots in 2022, the Lucas County Board of Elections reports.
The plan has been to move from the Early Vote Center at 1301 Monroe St. to a larger, more centralized location at 3737 Sylvania Ave. The board, however, is still looking to address some concerns with county commissioners about the new location.
A letter from the board to the commissioners in December expressed concerns over the new location, especially with the parking situation at the building, which could cause issues on busy early voting days.
“It’s really important that we get this resolved because we need to let the voters know where the Early Vote Center is going to be,” Board Chairman David Karmol said at its Tuesday meeting, which was held at what is supposed to be the new location.
The Sylvania Avenue location is also home to Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services and child support services. The final plan for the building is to house all operations for the board of elections, which has been operating from three different locations.
Lucas County Administrator Megan Vahey Casiere said that the county has worked closely with the board throughout the process and that construction has been underway to accommodate all aspects of the board. She also noted that parking is more limited now than it will be in March because of the construction of an annex storage building.
“Once the annex building is completed, we’re going to re-stripe the lot and then all of those parking spaces will reappear,” she said.
If more discussion isn’t held soon, the board is concerned that the location won’t be ready in time to accommodate residents when early voting for the primary election begins in April. Overall the facility still has over 80 percent more parking spaces than the Monroe Street location.
Discussions have included designating parking spaces for voters, Ms. Vahey Casiere said.
Board member Kurt Young said that the conversations with the county have made the board optimistic that the issue can be fixed, but the two sides still need to meet soon and come up with a plan to complete the transition before it’s too late.
“It’s going to be tight, but if we can get those (parking) spaces designated, that’s going to be the thing,” Mr. Young said. “We need to have it very well planned out in cooperation with the county to make this happen.”
Board members expressed the need to meet with the county commissioners by the end of January, at the latest, saying that moving a voting center is not as easy of a task as it might seem from the public eye.
Board members explained that materials could be moved over easily, but the process of ensuring security, testing voting machines, and making sure everything is fully operational before Election Day takes much longer. They also have to follow guidance from the Ohio secretary of state throughout the moving process.
Ms. Vahey Casiere said that the county is excited about the project and is open to hearing about any concerns that the board might have.
“We are committed to making sure we get the project done on time,” she said. “We’re committed to making sure that they have adequate parking.”
First Published January 4, 2022, 11:56 p.m.
