2020 Outlook: New Year, New Look

Posted on January 27, 2020January 27, 2020 by Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Cheers to 2020! The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is welcoming the new year and decade with a new look. This includes a brand new logo, building renovations and updated website. Oh, and let’s not forget the continued roll-out of Ohio’s new “I Voted” sticker – priorities, right?!

Logo and Colors
The three-striped flag logo has served us well with over a decade of service to the Board of Elections. “Saying goodbye to our flag and stars logo is bittersweet. I remember when it first made its debut,” said Shantiel Soeder, Deputy Director of the Board of Elections. “We are excited to welcome a monumental election year and new decade. With so many positive enhancements on the horizon, now is the perfect time to refresh the CCBOE brand.”

The logo features:

More modern fonts and colors
VOTE call to action
Blue and red colors to highlight our dedication to bipartisanship in election administration
The outline of Ohio appears in the “O” of “VOTE.” Cuyahoga County is marked with a star.

Early In-Person Voting – So long, Pink Room
Each year, early in-person voting becomes more and more popular. Especially with high voter turnout expected during this presidential election year, changes needed to occur in order to comfortably accommodate all of our voters for early in-person voting at our main building.

If you’ve been to our building for voting in the past, you may recall it taking place in what we referred to as “The Pink Room.” This outdated space, along with our entire first floor, has been gutted to make way for a huge, open space. The changes will provide not only an updated façade (so long, pink floors!), but will accommodate more voting booths and a larger accessible area for voter assistance

The renovations will be completed in early February, just in time for Early In-Person Voting for the March Primary Election.

Website
Our team is working on an entirely new website design. This has been in the works for many months, as we are thoughtfully considering the needs of voters, candidates, and all who visit our website for information. This is an ongoing project throughout 2020.

“I Voted” Sticker
Technically the new Ohio “I Voted” sticker made its debut in 2019, but many of our voters will snag theirs for the first time during 2020 elections.

Looking Ahead
This year is also a year of big decision-making. We are in the process of selecting new election equipment and tabulation systems after the passing of Ohio Senate Bill 135 in April of 2018, which allocated funding to all 88 Ohio counties for the purchase of voting systems. We expect to make a final decision in 2020 and begin implementation for elections in 2021. Follow along with our acquisition journey here.

2020 Elections
March 17, 2020 – Primary Election (Presidential)
August 4, 2020 – Special Election, if needed
November 3, 2020 – General Election (Presidential)

Click to view the entire elections calendar.

Some Things Will Never Change
One thing that will never change is our dedication to conducting safe, transparent and secure elections.

Happy New Year!

Attorneys can receive free CLE credits for becoming Precinct Election Officials

Posted on January 23, 2020January 30, 2020 by Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Attorneys can earn four general Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits and serve their community all at once by volunteering to work the polls on Election Day!

Here’s how it works:

Attorneys are trained to become Precinct Election Officials, receiving special instruction for election protection.
Attorneys will be placed at polling locations on Election Day that have historically experienced some issues.
Attorneys receive four CLE credits AND are paid a stipend for working the polls.
There is no cost to enroll. This course has been approved by the Ohio Supreme Court for four (4) general CLE credits.

Attorneys must commit to serve as Precinct Election Officials (poll workers) for the March 17, 2020 Primary Election in order to participate in this training. Workers are paid the normal salary for Election Officials in addition to receiving the CLE credits.

Attorneys may choose from two training classes, which will take place at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association on the following dates:

Thursday, January 30 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 20 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Registration is required. To register or learn more, contact Roseanne Maloney at 216-443-3232 ext. 7218 or rmaloney@cuyahogacounty.us.

Attorneys attend the first training session on January 30, 2020

Persons with disabilities provide feedback towards purchase of new election equipment

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is thoughtfully purchasing new election equipment over the next year. One of many factors that will influence our decision is how well the new equipment will be able to serve persons with disabilities and the ADA community. To assist our decision making, we invited community partners, advocates, and persons with disabilities to try out the options. Three equipment vendors demonstrated their products during an open house event on January 10 at our warehouse.

During the event, guests participated in a mock election simulating the Early In-Person Voting process. They were able to try out election equipment from all three vendors, including ballot optical scanners and ADA ballot-marking devices. After visiting each vendor, guests were invited to share their feedback with a survey. About 40 people participated in the event.

The three equipment vendors include Clear Ballot, Elections Systems and Software (ES&S), and Hart InterCivic.

Our team will carefully review the feedback gathered over the coming days and months as we move closer to a decision. Another demonstration event will be open to the public later this year. We expect to make a final decision in 2020 and begin implementation for elections in 2021.

To learn more about the acquisition process, visit our website:
https://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US//publicdemo2019.aspx