Residents, advocates urge Mahoning County not to move Board of Elections from Youngstown

Residents and community advocates told the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners on June 18 that a proposed move of the county Board of Elections office from Youngstown to a county‑owned building in Austintown would disenfranchise city voters and asked the commissioners to hold public hearings before any decision.

Reverend Kenneth L. Simon, chair of the Greater Youngstown Community Mobilization Coalition, speaking for 25 minority organizations, said the coalition had submitted alternate site recommendations and asked whether the commissioners had investigated those suggestions. "Answer our questions, reconsider this move, schedule public hearings on this matter, and respond to the Community Mobilization Coalition directly before a final decision is made," Simon said.

The coalition and several other speakers said moving the office outside Youngstown would create transportation barriers for the city's most vulnerable voters. "Youngstown voters matter," Simon told the commissioners.

Commissioner Carol (last name not specified in the record) told speakers there is "no proposal to move the board of elections, actually," and that commissioners had not yet taken a formal vote. She said the county is reviewing options for several departments and that her "position remains the same. I wanna keep it in the city of Youngstown." Carol also said the county has explored multiple uses for the Austintown property and that decisions were not finalized.

Several other commenters described storage and access issues for voting machines. Celestine Lehi, who gave her Youngstown address for the record, asked whether prior involvement with the Austintown purchase indicated favoritism and whether voters would be able to travel to the site. Francine Vasquez, a longtime former employee who said she worked in the county building now housing the Board of Elections, said the elections machines are currently sealed and palletized in the present facility and that "they don't need another building" if storage is the only issue.

Commissioners publicly emphasized that no final decision had been made and that they were "not in a big hurry" to act while options are still being discussed. The public comment period produced repeated requests for a formal response and for one or more public hearings; the transcript and remarks on June 18 do not show that the commissioners scheduled hearings or took a vote on relocating the Board of Elections.

The record shows the purchase of the Austintown property (referred to by speakers as the Patriot building) has already occurred; commissioners and commentators differ about how soon and whether the Board of Elections would use that space. Commenters pointed to the county seat status of Youngstown and to logistical concerns including transportation access and machine storage. The transcript does not record any formal motion, referral, or directive tied to this topic during the June 18 meeting.