Adena polling place moved to Smithfield

Voters in Adena will no longer cast ballots in the village after the Jefferson County Board of Elections eliminated its polling place, Mayor Brenda Roski told council during the Aug. 19 meeting.

Roski said she received a letter from the board describing the change as part of budget cuts. Adena is one of 21 precincts in the county to lose its polling site. Residents will now vote at Smithfield Presbyterian Church, more than nine miles away — the farthest distance among the affected communities.

The board of elections said in the letter that 94% of voters whose locations changed would travel less than five miles. The change takes effect in time for the November 2025 election, and every affected household will receive a postcard with its new location.

Village Solicitor Adam Martello said he researched the matter and found the Ohio Revised Code gives election boards wide discretion to relocate polling places.

“What the courts have said is that generally that means that they have extremely broad authority to do that,” Martello said. He added that the village could consider a lawsuit but had few other legal options.

Roski warned the move could discourage turnout and jeopardize the village’s four levies. “If we lose our four levies we are done, people,” she said. “Do you realize that?” She added that she is prepared to go door to door with absentee ballot applications to encourage voting.

Roski said the village building and firehouse were both offered as polling sites but rejected. Martello told council that while he was not worried about candidate filings for local seats, the real risk was voter turnout for levies.

“So, the recourse is not great, you know, from the legal perspective,” Martello said.