Utility issue delays elections board move
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Aug. 13, 2024) – Tuscarawas County voters wanting to cast an early ballot for the November 5th Presidential Election will do so at the usual location.
The county elections office was supposed to move into its new headquarters on the east side of New Philadelphia before the 30-day early voting period until a utility issue pushed back the timeline. Director Gail Garbrandt says she and her staff will be ready to welcome early voters at their current office in the county courthouse beginning October 8th.
“They are not going to get the gas line into the building. There was a delay for some reason and you know Dominion East Ohio sold to another company, and the last I heard it was gonna be five months, which would have taken us into late November, early December anyways, so we will not move until this election is certified and audited.”
Meanwhile, Board of Commissioners President Kristen Zemis says crews are putting the finishing touches on the building at 933 East High Avenue that will also be the new home of the county’s EMA office.
“We are working with EMA to make sure they have all the security and IT support equipment that they need there. And of course also with the board of elections to make sure they’re meeting everything that they’re required to meet with the Secretary of State: entrances, cameras, the ability to store lots of records for the prescribed amount of time following an election.”
The commissioners are paying for the project with federal money the county received during the COVID-19 pandemic and a half-million dollars from Ohio’s One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund.
Garbrandt now expects to be in the new building sometime after the first week in December.