CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections just settled into its new headquarters this summer, but it has already encountered a serious problem: rainwater and crumbling cement in the parking garage damaged two expensive machines that process mail-in ballots.

Elections staff started noticing water leaking in August, not in the new building at 1803 Superior Ave. , which used to be home to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, but in the enclosed part of the parking garage that houses the county’s vote-by-mail operation.

First, the water and debris damaged a sensor and the control arms on one of the machines, which sorts ballots by municipality and precinct while capturing voters’ signatures for verification. That machine now has to be sent out for repairs, costing an estima

See Full Page