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Crawford County elections board debates temporary move of Centerville polling place
Summary
Board members considered a temporary move of the Centerville polling place to the Athens Township municipal building amid a shortage of precinct workers; members split over whether the relocation would deter voters, and no final relocation vote was recorded. Staff were asked to pursue additional volunteer outreach.
Speaker 1, the presiding officer of the Crawford County Board of Elections, opened discussion on a proposal to temporarily relocate the Centerville Borough polling place from the Centerville Volunteer Fire Department at 39567 Centerville Road to the Athens Township Municipal Building at 35697 Centerville Road.
Speaker 3 moved to execute the temporary relocation and Speaker 2 seconded the motion. Before a final vote, board members discussed staffing and voter access. Speaker 4, an elections staff member, said one person had contacted the office and did not want the location moved to Athens Township and that the precinct needs at least three poll workers; staff said they had been unable to find a third worker if the site moved.
Speaker 2 said relocating the polling place could deter voters because the route is “hilly” and “winding,” and expressed particular concern for elderly voters’ ability to reach a relocated site. “I just I cannot support it today because I I do think it does deter voters,” Speaker 2 said. Speaker 1 noted the same road is used by Athens Township voters but acknowledged the board needed to avoid disadvantaging Centerville residents.
Board members also reviewed recent outreach: staff reported petition packets and a letter sent in January encouraging filings for judge-of-election and inspector seats, and noted a postcard had been mailed in a prior year seeking poll worker help. Speaker 2 and others urged continued local recruitment rather than relocating a precinct out of its borough.
Speaker 1 proposed tabling the relocation indefinitely so the motion would not be voted down immediately. The board voted on that tabling motion; one member voted “aye” and two members voted “no,” resulting in the tabling motion’s failure. The underlying relocation motion therefore remained unresolved.
After the vote, Speaker 1 asked staff (Cheslyn) to contact the two individuals who had committed to help and to see if auxiliary volunteers could assist; Speaker 2 offered to run a postcard and to ask local churches and social media pages to solicit additional poll workers. No final action approving a temporary relocation was recorded before the meeting adjourned.
The board’s next steps are to recontact potential volunteers and report back; no date for a further decision on the Centerville location was announced.
