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Trumbull elections board preparing voting-precinct reductions for May primary
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The staff of the Trumbull County Board of Elections expects to complete steps by Feb. 13 to reduce the number of voting precincts by 38 — from 208 to 170 — for the May 5 primary election.
Elections board members talked Tuesday about the reductions with the office’s new director and deputy director.
Each precinct reduction is estimated to save the elections board about $1,000 per year.
The measure, which the board authorized Feb. 4, 2013, also is designed to equalize the number of voters in each precinct and reduce costs local government bodies pay to the elections board, said board member Ron Knight.
Warren will be reduced by 16 precincts — from 42 to 26. Niles will drop by five — from 18 to 13. It will mean three fewer in Liberty Township (from 12 to nine) and Girard (from nine to six), two fewer in Cortland (from eight to six) and two fewer in Vienna (from five to three).
A reduction of one precinct each will occur in the townships of Braceville, Bristol, Mecca, Newton, Warren, Hubbard and the village of Lordstown.
The 38 fewer precincts is the first of two steps that will ultimately reduce the number of precincts by 51, said Jodi Fiorenzo Dibble, who was elevated last week from deputy director to director because of the retirement of Kelly Pallante.
Fiorenzo-Dibble and new Deputy Director Stephanie Penrose will reduce the number of voting precincts by an additional 13 after the primary so that those changes are in place for the November election.
Those reductions will consist of five fewer precincts in Howland Township (from 18 to 13) three fewer in Weathersfield Township (nine to six), three fewer in Champion (from 10 to seven) and two fewer in Brookfield (from nine to seven).
After those consolidations are in place, the county will have 157 precincts.
Howland, Weathersfield, Champion and Brookfield will be consolidated later because so far they don’t have a measure on the primary ballot that would require their polls to be open May 5.
Fiorenzo Dibble said a goal of the consolidations will be to have no more than 1,100 voters in any one precinct. There are three precincts with about 1,400 voters each, while some have half that many.
In other business, the elections board accepted the resignation of board member Ralph Infante, who was required to leave his position to run for re-election this year for Niles mayor.