New BOE members focus on efficiency

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Two new members took their seats Tuesday at the Montgomery County Board of Elections meeting. John Doll and former Dayton mayor Rhine McLin took the seats left empty when Secretary of State John Husted removed Thomas Ritchie and Dennis Lieberman from their positions on the board.

Husted accused the democratic members of failing to follow his directive to eliminate weekend early voting hours. That issue is still plaguing the board as it sits in court, unresolved.

"Hopefully the courts will decide sooner rather than later. Obviously we're at their mercy at this point it's in the Sixth Circuit Court in the appellate process," said Steve Harsman, Deputy Director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Also still on hold is the printing of the ballots. 2 News reported last week about the change of wording on Issue 2, which is lengthy. That long explanation of the issue will cost the board estimated extra $80,000 to print. However, board members held out to print, anticipating the changes, so that they wouldn't have to reprint the ballots.

The new board did make progress on efficiency. It has implemented an "any line, any time" policy this year to reduce the lines seen during the 2008 presidential election.

"Voters when they go to their location, they can go to any table to actually vote and cast their ballot," said Harsman.

The new policy is made possible by technology that allows volunteers to scan voters' drivers licenses to determine their precinct. It's estimated to make voting 50 to 65 percent faster.

Voters will also notice an extra voting machine at each polling place to expedite the voting process.