WARREN -- A TRUMBULL COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS MEMBER SAID HE PLANS TO VOTE AGAINST THE BOARDS' BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR 2007 IN AN EFFORT TO ELIMINATE MORE THAN HALF OF THE CURRENT ELECTION PRECINCTS BY

WARREN -- A Trumbull County Board of Elections member said he plans to vote against the boards' budget proposal for 2007 in an effort to eliminate more than half of the current election precincts by next spring.
Republican Ron Knight said he and Trumbull County GOP Chairman Craig Bonar, who make up half of the four-member elections board, won't vote today in favor of the agency's proposed $1.5 million budget. Knight said they favor a budget proposal of $1.39 million. The $110,000 difference is the estimated amount Knight says the board could save by reducing its election precincts from the current 274 to 135.
Knight says the county has far too many precincts for the number of active voters. Realigning the precincts could save the county money and make it easier to recruit people to work the polls, he said.
Knight's plan calls for the elections board staff to make the precinct changes, subject to board approval, and have everything in place by March 15, 2007. The plan would begin with the May 2007 primary.
Democratic election board members say reducing precincts should wait until after the next U.S. Census in 2010.