The Summit County Board of Elections deadlocked Tuesday on three budget-cutting steps aimed at addressing financial challenges.The board’s Republican members proposed drastically cutting precincts before the November election and eliminating district poll worker coordinators, who work part time but receive full-time benefits. The Democratic members opposed these steps, instead suggesting keeping the poll worker coordinators, but no longer providing them with health care.Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, will be tasked with breaking the tie votes. Summit now has six tie votes pending before Husted.The board and Summit County are locked in a battle over how much funding the board needs to make it through this year, which happens to be a presidential election year when more people vote and boards are busier. The county has pointed to the boards in Lucas and Montgomery counties, which have similar populations and number of registered voters, but spend millions less than the Summit board.Summit County gave the elections board a temporary budget of $1.5 million for the first three months of this year and is proposing about $4.8 million for the entire year. The board had requested nearly $9.3 million, which included $1 million in contingency costs. The board spent $7.1 million in 2008, the last presidential election year.Alex Arshinkoff, one of the two Republican board members, thinks the board needs to reduce precincts, a cost-cutting step Lucas and Montgomery have made since 2008. He proposed dropping from 475 precincts to about 269 — a 43 percent reduction — which would result in 1,250 to 1,300 voters per precinct. Summit now has an average of 736 voters per precinct.“We need to get on this,” Arshinkoff said. “If we go to mandate funds, we need to be strong showing we’ve done everything we can to cut costs.”Arshinkoff was referring to how an elections board can go to court to force the county to release funds. This step has been taken in other Ohio counties, but never in Summit.Tim Gorbach, the board’s Democratic chairman, admitted Summit is “behind the curve” in cutting precincts compared to other boards, but said he doesn’t think this step should be taken between the presidential primary and general elections. The expected savings is about $124,000.“The savings are not enough versus the disruption this would serve onto our customers who are the voters,” he said.The board’s Democratic members also don’t want to get rid of the poll worker coordinators, whom they said serve an important function on election days, troubleshooting problems at the polls. The Democrats suggested keeping them at the $4,000 annual salaries they now receive, but no longer providing health care, which was the most significant expense with their compensation. The poll worker coordinators would continue to earn pensions, as do other part-time employees at the board.“If we pay them more, that gives us better confidence that, on Election Day, any problems or concerns will have people experienced handling them,” Gorbach said.Arshinkoff held off on his proposal that the board forgo an outside location for in-person early voting in November. Republicans think this step would save about $50,000, but Democrats argue it would result in the long lines and waits that the board had in the March 2008 primary when it held early voting at the board’s cramped Grant Street office. The board had an outside spot for in-person early voting in November 2008 and November 2010.Summit County officials are looking for a county-owned building where the board could hold early voting this fall and not have to pay rent. The board plans to revisit the issue after the March 6 primary.The Democratic board members didn’t bring up the issue of how part-timers are being used, which they think is an area where savings can be achieved.Gorbach said after the meeting that part-timers right now are being taken off of special projects, including a registration audit the Democrats had criticized, and diverted to tasks related to the upcoming primary. After the primary, he said, the board will look at what tasks part-timers should be performing.Arshinkoff thinks the cuts the Republicans have proposed likely won’t be enough to satisfy the county. He said further reductions might be needed, including layoffs.Both Democratic and Republican board members and staff are concerned that the board could run out of money after the March primary and not have enough to pay poll workers and part-timers. The county turned down the board’s request for an additional $200,000 for the first three months of the year.Gorbach said the board might have enough in other areas of the budget to cover personnel expenses for the primary, although any shifting of funds would require the approval of the Summit County Council. He said the board will keep the county apprised of its budget situation.“We will review and let them know if we’re running short,” he said.Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.