Lorain County elections board cuts poll workers for May primary

SHEFFIELD TWP. — With turnout for the May 2 primary expected to be low, the Lorain County Board of Elections made several staffing moves Thursday. Director Paul Adams said the elections board is "not anticipating a very large turnout" on May 2. As a result, members voted to reduce the number of poll workers needed that day from 816 to 754. The 62 poll worker positions will be pulled from larger polling places, Adams said. For example, Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Church on Reeves Avenue in Lorain will have six fewer poll workers, going from 28 to 22. The church is the location of seven voting precincts. The reduction in staffing will save at least $9,300 in poll worker salaries, as each poll worker can expect to be paid a minimum of $150 on Election Day. The May 2 primary is a smaller election with fewer countywide races and issues on the ballot and no statewide races. "In a large election, we'd never do this," Adams said. The board also voted to spend $1,500 to rent hall space on Clinton Avenue from Sheffield Township for poll worker training. In addition, the board voted to ask the Lorain County Board of Commissioners to approve reimbursement of $204,538 it plans to spend on updated electronic poll books after the Ohio secretary of state released that money to Lorain County. Adams approached the commissioners in 2021 asking for up to $500,000 to replace the ePollbook tablets used by poll workers as part of a state mandate taking effect by 2024. Adams said Thursday that the board "did everything we could to be very frugal" when it came to purchasing and rolling out new equipment. County commissioners still have to vote to accept the state reimbursement check and reallocate the money to the elections board, he said. The board also voted unanimously to reappoint Marilyn Jacobcik, a Republican, as board president. Adams, a Democrat, was reappointed board director and James Kramer, a Republican, was reappointed deputy board director for 2023. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.