T-L File Photo/JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Voters wait in line in 2023 to check in and cast their ballots at Bethesda Christian Church, which housed multiple area precincts during recent elections. All thse voters will now cast ballots at Union Local High School.

BELMONT — The Belmont County Board of Elections recently voted to consolidate eight precincts into one polling location.

The Flushing Village, Flushing Township, Belmont Village, Bethesda Village, Goshen Township, Kirkwood Township, Morristown Village and Union Township precincts now all will vote at Union Local High School.

Board of elections Deputy Director Kamron Chervenak said the board’s decision was not made lightly, but members believe it is more cost efficient and beneficial to the townships and villages to all be voting in a centralized location.

Union Local High School is Americans With Disabilities Act compliant, Chervenak said, which is required by the state of Ohio.

“We had 26 polling locations, and now we have 21. So it’s really going to expedite the voting process and just make it more convenient for everybody,” she said.

She added that many of the precincts would have to pass Union Local’s campus to go vote at the James E. Carnes Center, which hosts multiple precincts.

“We have to rent these locations out, and that’s a factor as well. We look at the cost of the location itself, the convenience of the setup and ultimately the ADA capabilities that these places have,” Chervenak said. “We also looked at voter convenience as well. We moved the village of Morristown out of Carnes Center into Union Local because it’s a closer drive for them.”

Chervenak added that the board is required by law to notify voters who are affected.

“The notices for that have already gone out. However, the board here has decided to go a step above and is going to be sending a reminder out to those voters as well, closer to the election, to remind them,” she said. “We’re also required to post at those former locations where the new location is as well.”

Chervenak said the board is trying to go above and beyond to keep affected voters informed about the location change. Mail-in ballots are available for those who can’t vote in person because of the change in location.

The state of Ohio requires the board to send out mail-in ballots to voters who request them 30 days before the election.

The board also offers in-person early voting at its office.

Chervenak said residents can call the board office at 740-526-0188 to request absentee ballots.

“Starting today, people can call in to get that ballot mailed to them,” she said Friday. “But the ballot will not be mailed to them until Oct. 7.”