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Suspensions end for 2 at elections board
Photo
Thomas McCabe
REGISTER, VOTE
Extended hours
Monday will be the final day for unregistered voters to register to vote in the Nov. 2 election. The Mahoning County Board of Elections will be open extended hours Monday from 8:30 a.m. The board is located in the South Side Annex, 2801 Market St., in Youngstown.
The elections board will also have extended hours for early voting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. It will open as well 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 and noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 31, the weekend before the general election.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning County Board of Elections director and clerk have served suspensions without pay for not following an internal office policy nearly a year ago and are back at work.
Director Thomas McCabe and Danielle O’Neill, a board clerk, each served three-day suspensions Friday, Monday and Tuesday, and returned to work Wednesday.
O’Neill was given a five-day suspension in October 2009 by the board for failing to follow an office policy to send ballot language to those with tax issues on the November 2009 ballot. McCabe was given a three-day suspension for failing to catch the mistake.
The board postponed having the two serve the suspensions because of a criminal investigation into the matter by the county sheriff’s office.
The investigation came at the request of county Commissioners David Ludt and Anthony Traficanti and county Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, who questioned why the elections board failed to send them ballot language for a half-percent sales tax for review.
It turned out that ballot language wasn’t sent to other government entities with tax issues on that ballot.
It also turned out that the sheriff’s investigation found no wrongdoing and was wrapped up in October 2009, but the sheriff’s office never notified elections officials.
Sheriff Randall Wellington confirmed to The Vindicator about a month ago that the investigation ended with no criminal wrongdoing found.
“We still haven’t heard from the sheriff, but we believe what we read in The Vindicator articles,” said Mark Munroe, the elections board vice chairman and head of the county Republican Party.
The board decided Wednesday to rescind two days of O’Neill’s suspension, Munroe said, primarily because the sheriff’s investigation found no laws were violated.
McCabe receives about $63,000 annually in salary and O’Neill is paid about $36,000 a year in base salary.
Also Wednesday, the board voted to open its office at the South Side Annex, 2801 Market St., in Youngstown, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, as well as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 and noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 31, the weekend before the Nov. 2 election, to accommodate those who want to vote early.
The board will also have extended hours from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, the final day for unregistered voters to register to vote in this election.