By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After years of wanting to keep local voter registration data in house, the Wood County Board of Elections found it has to rely on the cloud for its new voter registration system – for a hefty price tag.
The board of elections has used its current voter registration since the late 1990s. With that system ceasing operations, the board sought bids for a replacement. While the sole vendor bid from Tenex meets all the needs of the county office, it also comes with double the cost.
So on Wednesday morning, the Wood County Board of Elections voted unanimously to approach the county commissioners for the additional funding.
The Tenex bid was for $205,000, then an annual maintenance fee of $130,000, said Julie Baumgardner, director of the board of elections with Terry Burton.
While Tenex was the lone bidder, Baumgardner said the voter registration system it offers is preferred to all others known to the board.
“They had the best system of all of them,” she said.
Different with this system is that it will be the county’s first cloud-based voter registration system. Like previous systems, the office will use it to key in all voter information. It will track if a voter signs a petition, and when they vote. “It holds all the voters’ information,” Baumgardner said.
Burton acknowledged that in the past he has been hesitant to make the jump to using a cloud-based system.
“I’ve been a little reticent about it,” he said. But the county commissioners have voiced support for cloud-based programs as offering better data protection.
“It’s a leap that I’ve struggled with,” but one that he has become more comfortable with, Burton added.
Baumgardner and Burton reached out to other boards contracting with Tenex – all who had positive comments about the system.
Tenex is working with boards of elections in more than 400 jurisdictions in 21 states, and three counties in Ohio – Franklin, Hamilton and Butler.
When asked after Wednesday morning’s meeting, Baumgardner said boards of elections across Ohio are waiting to see what changes state legislators are making for voting registrations.
“That’s still in committee, so we don’t know what the rules will be,” she said.
Despite warnings of rampant voter fraud across the nation, a post-election audit last November showed a perfect accuracy rate and no voter fraud in the presidential race in Ohio.
That led Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, to again declare Ohio as the “gold standard” for election integrity.
But that 100% accuracy rate in the presidential race was not enough to quiet the calls for more voter restrictions.
In March, Senate Bill 153 was introduced by State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, and State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware. Their proposal called for the banning of ballot drop boxes and for voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote
“Senate Bill 153 addresses areas of the election law we can improve, including an extra layer of protection to enforce our state constitution’s citizenship requirement,” Gavarone stated in a press release. “This is a simple fix that strengthens trust and integrity in our institutions.”
But some officials are questioning if it is really that simple, and if it will lead to many voters being denied their legal right to cast their ballots.
According to Gavarone’s bill, citizenship must be verified when people register to vote or update their registrations.
Millions of Americans don’t have appropriate documents readily available to prove their citizenship even though they are U.S. citizens, according to the Associated Press. For example, in town elections in New Hampshire, which recently passed a proof of citizenship requirement, some women didn’t have proper documentation because they had changed their last names when they married.
The proposed legislation requires in-person voter registration at election offices. Anyone moving or changing their name will have to re-register in person.
Last year, the Wood County Board of Elections processed more than 34,000 voter registration forms. Of those forms, 20,750 voters used the online form to register or update their registrations, 10,567 mailed in a printed form, and 4,846 people updated or registered at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. None of these methods for registering to vote or updating voter registrations will be allowed under the new law.
This change would not only create more hoops for voters, but also add work for elections offices whose staff will have to get birth certificates, passports or naturalization papers verified.
Gavarone’s bill also proposes that ballot drop boxes be banned in Ohio.
During the November 2024 election, 2,233 ballots were placed in the Wood County drop box, according to Burton.
“The drop box is a convenience factor for people,” Burton said. “Some may have a lack of trust in the postal system, or want to avoid the price of a stamp.”
“I think voters have gotten used to the opportunity to use it,” he said of the ballot drop box. “It’s removing an option for them.”
