The Springfield News-Sun provides ongoing coverage of election issues in Clark County.
Voters in New Carlisle will be forced to travel farther than usual to cast their ballots, raising the ire of some city candidates.
Because of safety concerns, the Clark County Board of Elections recently voted to stop using the only poll location in the city — New Carlisle Elementary School, 1203 Kennison Ave. — and will now require voters to cast ballots at Tecumseh High School, 9830 W. National Road, in Bethel Twp.
“While we endeavor to try to remain in the city … we couldn’t find locations that were ADA compliant,” Matthew Tlachac, election board director, said.
New Carlisle Elementary School became a poll location in 2014 when the board of elections changed more than a dozen precincts after an inspection by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office discovered several poll locations failed to meet accessibility requirements for people with disabilities.
Many of the new poll locations were in area schools.
That same year, elections officials asked schools to cancel classes on Election Day for student safety. But only Greenon Local Schools agreed, opting to use those days for professional development.
Tecumseh Local School District leaders at that time considered doing the same, particularly because the public traveled through the main corridor of the New Carlisle Elementary School building to reach the voting location.
But those discussions have since stopped, Tlachac said.
New Carlisle’s school “was a great facility because it is an ADA compliant location and provided ample room for three precincts. After the use of the facility for two elections, safety concerns that could not be overcome ultimately led the board of elections to seek other options,” Tlachac said.
Tecumseh Local Schools Superintendent Norm Glismann said although the issue of using Election Day as a professional development day for staff was discussed by the previous administration, Glismann said no changes can be made without changing the teachers’ union’s contract, which requires all in-service days to be held on Fridays.
Glismann, who replaced Superintendent Brad Martin in June, said he began discussing the issue with election officials in late August after the district calendar was set.
Glismann said Park Layne and Donnelsville elementary schools are used as poll locations.
But Glismann said it simply is not safe to hold an election inside New Carlisle Elementary School because of the way the building is designed.
“The hallways that the voters would use to get to the gymnasium where the polling place was located are the same hallways we’ve got kids walking down going to the restroom, going to different rooms,” Glismann said.
New Carlisle Council members — including those seeking re-election on the November ballot — dislike that the poll location for voters in the city is in Bethel Twp.
Councilman Ethan Reynolds, who is running for re-election, said he wished the board of elections would have brought the issue before council and asked if members had suggestions for other locations before moving the polling location to 2.5 miles outside city limits.
“It just makes no sense,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said “it’s ridiculous” that he has to place yard signs about his re-election bid outside the city limits.
Reynolds said the city manager is looking at what could be done to bring the poll location back in the city.
Councilman Mike Lowrey said he’s “not a big fan” of the new poll location.
“It’s a real inconvenience for the older people, the elders,” Lowrey said. “I think it’s going to make it harder on the older people … It’s just a long distance for them to drive.”
Lowrey questioned whether the school could consider cancelling classes on Election Day.
He said he expected the issue to be discussed among council members and hopes council can come up with suggestions that will bring the poll location back to New Carlisle.
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