New member sworn in for Columbiana County elections board

LISBON -- The Columbiana County Board of Elections staff and board welcomed new board member Peggy Caratelli after a brief swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning.

"I'm excited," she said.

The East Palestine resident was recommended for the post by the county Republican Party Central Committee in a unanimous vote May 30 to replace Greg Smith of Salem, who resigned effective May 29. The Ohio Secretary of State then made the appointment based on that recommendation.

Caratelli retired from the Beaver Valley Power Station where she was a member of the clerical staff. She and her husband, Ron, have been actively volunteering as temporary staff for the elections in the county, including during early voting, since 2020. She also serves as treasurer of the Columbiana County Republican Party.

"I'm sure she'll do an outstanding job," board Chairman David Johnson said.

Johnson also serves as chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party and said it's important that people in those positions "have a hand on the pulse of the elections."

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam administered the oath of office to Caratelli at the start of the board meeting. She will serve the unexpired term of Smith, which ends on Feb. 28, 2029.

Caratelli joins fellow Republican Johnson and Democratic members Vice Chair Patty Colian and Charley Kidder, who is the county Democratic Party Chairman, on the four-member board. The staff is also equally bi-partisan, with Director Kim Fusco a Democrat and Deputy Director Niki Wilkinson a Republican, then two Democratic and two Republican clerks.

In other business, Fusco told board members to consider looking into different vendors for printing ballots after she learned at a conference that Columbiana County was paying 33 cents per ballot while some other counties were paying 18 cents or 19 cents per ballot with different suppliers.

"I think if there's a chance to save money for the county, we should look into it," she said.

Johnson suggested going to their current supplier, ES&S, and telling them they need to be more competitive. Fusco and Wilkinson said they plan to approach ES&S about the price difference.

Both Fusco and Wilkinson also stressed, though, that they're very happy with ES&S. They've never had a problem with them.

"It's good that you caught this," Johnson said.

Fusco noted that more information will be presented at the next meeting. Some of the other counties in the area included Ashtabula at 20 cents, Jefferson at 35 cents, Stark at 18 cents and Summit at 24 cents. One of those companies printing ballots at less cost is located within close driving distance.

The potential savings for the county could be as much as 14 cents per ballot.

The board also ratified the cyber response plan for the 2026 general election, basically updating the plan which is in place in case of any computer complications or security issues.

The board also ratified the election administration plan for the 2026 general election, which Johnson said is a complete plan for how the election is done.

Fusco reported receiving a grant from the Ohio Secretary of State for $8,042 to be used for poll worker training, overtime for regular county employees and to pay for temporary workers for the elections. She noted the grant cannot be used for the purchase of any snacks during the trainings.

Bills were approved for $124,989 for May and $44,920 for June, with Fusco explaining the May bills included costs related to the primary election, such as poll workers, maintenance for the machines, security for the drop box and other election costs.