By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County voters will be casting their ballots at fewer places come this fall.
The 56 polling locations of two years ago have been pared down to 31 voting sites for the November election. The Wood County Board of Elections released the reduced number of voting locations on Tuesday.
The reason for the change is three-fold, according to Terry Buron of the board of elections.
First is the high number of local voters casting early ballots or voting by mail.
“Given the numbers that are voting out there early, it makes our election day process run a lot more efficiently,” Burton said.
Last November, of the 50,624 ballots cast in Wood County, 12,677 were through early or mail-in ballots.
Next is the difficulty finding poll workers.
The pool of registered voters willing to serve as precinct election officials has continued to go down with the continued increase in multi-income households and working retirees.
“Finding enough pollworkers is becoming a constant challenge,” Burton said.
“We struggle every election to find 400 people countywide” to staff the polls, he said. The change will reduce the number of workers by 100.
The state has ruled that if multiple precincts are in one location, fewer workers are required. The use of electronic poll books has also streamlined the process, so fewer workers are needed.
And third, is the population shift and efforts toward precinct equalization.
The continued population growth in the northern areas of Wood County has made the average precinct size approximately 50 percent larger than the precincts in the southern half of the county which have remained static. This has resulted in significantly higher administrative and equipment costs for the smaller southern precincts.
There are also some current voting locations in the more rural areas of southeastern Wood County where the buildings don’t meet ADA accessibility requirements.
Beginning in 2017, the first round of changes were initiated in Bowling Green, followed by consolidations in Perrysburg, Rossford, Troy Township and Lake Township.
Several Bowling Green voting precincts were consolidated into “voting centers.” The precincts share voting locations at places like the Wood County District Public Library and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Bowling Green schools, which closed to allow public access on election days, are no longer used for voting sites.
In May of this year, the board authorized the staff to begin the process of identifying and visiting new locations, updating voter records and preparing new precinct maps. In total, 25 precinct and polling location changes will be affected. All voting locations will now include more than one precinct.
With the new changes, communities like Rossford, Northwood and the Elmwood School District will each have single voting sites.
According to the board of elections, these consolidations benefit voters by providing more cost-effective elections and better voter service at each location. Fewer polling locations allow the board to reduce equipment delivery costs, reduce the number of voting units needed to be purchased by the county and reduce the required number of precinct elections officials.
Overall, multi-precinct locations improve allocation of voting equipment, offer a more accessible voting environment for voters with disabilities, as well as allow for improved redundancy of resources resulting in a more secure and safe election.
“This has been a process,” Burton said. “It’s been a smoother process than I thought.”
Polling location changes for November 2019:
- Bloom Township (Including Bairdstown Village, Bloomdale Village, Cygnet Village, Bloom Township portion of Jerry City Village) will be voting at the Elmwood Community Center, 7650 Jerry City Rd., Bloomdale.
- Perry Township (Elmwood School District voters including West Millgrove Village) will be voting at the Elmwood Community Center, 7650 Jerry City Road, Bloomdale.
- Perry Township (Fostoria School District and Lakota School District voters) will be voting at Stacy’s Place, 625 Plaza Drive, Fostoria.
- Montgomery Township West (Elmwood School District voters including Wayne Village) will be voting at the Elmwood Community Center, 7650 Jerry City Road, Bloomdale.
- Montgomery Township Southeast (southern portion of Lakota School District voters including Risingsun Village) will be voting at Stacy’s Place, 625 Plaza Drive, Fostoria.
- Montgomery Township Northeast (northern portion of Lakota School District voters including Bradner Village) will be voting at Pemberville American Legion Post 183, 405 E. Front St., Pemberville.
- Portage Township (Elmwood School District voters including Portage Township portion of Jerry City Village) will be voting at the Elmwood Community Center, 7650 Jerry City Road, Bloomdale.
- Portage Township (Bowling Green School District voters) will be voting at the Portage Christ United Methodist Church, 301 W. Main St., Portage.
- Liberty Township will be voting at the Portage Christ United Methodist Church, 301 W. Main St., Portage.
- North Baltimore Village will be voting at Hancock-Wood Electrical Co-op, 1399 Business Park Drive South, North Baltimore.
- Jackson Township (including Hoytville Village) will be voting at Hancock-Wood Electrical Co-op, 1399 Business Park Drive South, North Baltimore.
- Milton Township (Including Custar Village and Milton Center Village) will be voting at Weston Emergency Services Building, 20761 Taylor St., Weston.
- Plain Township will be voting at Junior Fair Building, Wood County Fairgrounds, 13800 W. Poe Road, Bowling Green.
- Center Township will be voting at Junior Fair Building, Wood County Fairgrounds, 13800 W. Poe Road, Bowling Green.
- Webster Township will be voting at Pemberville American Legion Post 183, 405 E. Front St., Pemberville.
- Freedom Township (including Pemberville Village) will be voting at Pemberville American Legion Post 183, 405 E. Front St., Pemberville.
- Northwood City will be voting at Northwood Local School District Offices, 700 Lemoyne Road, Northwood.
All voters that have a new precinct number or polling location change will be mailed a postcard that they should receive by no later than the end of September. This post card will inform the voter of their new precinct and/or polling location and the address. Voters who wish to look up their precinct and polling location may also do so on the Board of Elections website at: www.co.wood.oh.us/BOE/ Updated Precinct maps are also available.
All Wood County voters may also vote by mail. Voters who wish to vote by mail can download an Absentee Application Form from either the Board of Elections website or the Ohio Secretary of State website at: voteohio.gov.
Voters can complete the application and then mail it to the Wood County Board of Elections, One Courthouse Square, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402. Ballots are mailed beginning 30 days prior to each election and continue until the Saturday before Election Day.
Voters can also choose to vote early in-person at the Board of Elections office located at the Wood County Courthouse in Bowling Green. Early Voting hours are: Oct. 8 – 25, Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Oct. 28 – Nov. 1, Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 3, from 1 to 5 p.m.; and Monday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
