Elections Director Brian Sleeth said there were some people at the time of the closure who were permitted to cast their ballots as the voting machines all have a battery back-up.
The move was necessitated due to a power outage caused by a vehicle crashing into a utility pole on Union Road near Ohio 122. The power outage also abruptly ended the school day at Middletown Christian School.
Sleeth said at the time of the outage, about 20 people had cast ballots at the site where six precincts were located.
“After we loaded the truck, three voters arrived and followed us over to Crosspointe, where they were able to vote at the new location,” he said.
In addition, the Warren County Engineer’s Office made signs directing voters where the new polls were and Sleeth stationed two of his employees to make sure voters knew where to go. Sleeth said the move took about 50 minutes.
Jeff Monroe, county elections board chairman, visited the relocated polls at Crosspointe.
“I’m thankful that it didn’t happen in November,” Monroe said. “You’d never want to see this in a busy election.”
He said he did not receive a single complaint about the quick change and added that Crosspointe was very welcoming when a call was put out by the elections board staff searching for an alternative location.
“Had it happened last fall, this would have been really bad,” Monroe said.
The polls close today at 7:30 p.m.
ORIGINAL REPORT @ 11:39 a.m.
A Warren County polling place serving six precincts in Middletown has been moved due to a power outage.
The polling location at Grace Baptist Church has been moved to Crosspointe Church of Christ, 5600 Ohio 122, according to Jeff Monroe, chairman of the Warren County Board of Elections.
A traffic crash resulted in a power pole falling down, which caused a power outage, he said.
The county engineer’s office is putting up detour signs, and the Emergency Management Agency is notifying the 3,700 registered voters affected in those precincts of the location change, according to Monroe.
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