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Mahoning County elections chair urges commissioners to provide a secure, single facility for voting equipment
Summary
David Beatrice, chair of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, told county commissioners on Feb. 27 that current storage of voting machines and records across multiple Oak Hill locations is insecure and urged the county to secure a new single facility that complies with Secretary of State requirements.
David Beatrice, chairman of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, told the county commissioners on Feb. 27 that the board stores voting machines and records in multiple locations in the Oak Hill building and that current storage conditions are insecure.
“Those are some of our voting machines, and we have to put them on pallets and wrap them up into plastic,” Beatrice said while showing photos he said were taken inside county supply rooms. He added, “This is our records room of where we keep records of the most powerful thing you have in Mahoning County, and that’s your right to participate in our democracy.”
Beatrice said the board has been in its current building about 14 years and that he has raised facility concerns multiple times. He urged the commissioners to provide a new facility and to stop treating the board as a “political football.” “We need a new facility and we needed it as of yesterday,” Beatrice said.
Why it matters: The Board of Elections oversees equipment and records used to administer county elections. Beatrice told the commissioners the board must have secure storage that “comply[es] with the secretary of state.” In the meeting he contrasted Mahoning County’s storage photos with images he showed of another county’s cleaner, more secure supply room.
Commissioners and other speakers discussed the timeline for addressing the concerns but did not announce a firm, immediate commitment or a finalized replacement location during the Feb. 27 meeting. A facilities representative was present but no formal vote or contract for a new facility was recorded in the meeting minutes.
Beatrice’s remarks occurred during the public comment portion of the commissioners’ meeting; he identified himself as the board’s chairman and gave his address on the record. The commissioners acknowledged his presentation and said the matter has been under study, with prior efforts to identify and evaluate replacement buildings.
