As Cleveland’s ward boundaries shift, nearly 30% of voters will now have different polling locations than in the most recent election.
A data analysis by Ideastream Public Media of Cuyahoga County Board of Elections’ voter databases show that nearly 73,000 Cleveland voters will have to cast ballots in the May 2025 Ohio primary at a different location than where they were assigned for the November 2024 general election.
The change could be attributed to newly-redrawn ward boundaries, but Cuyahoga County Board of Elections spokesperson Mike West said polling locations can shift due to a variety of issues.
“If we had it our way, once all the polling locations were selected and chosen, they would never change,” West said. He said sometimes owners of private buildings that operate as polling locations can no longer accommodate voters. “Basically, a lot of it's out of our control.”
Councilmember Charles Slife is worried these changes could cause chaos at the polls. Slife represents Ward 17, most of which will soon become Ward 15 under the city’s new ward maps. That includes the far West Side of Cleveland with the West Park, Kamm’s Corner and parts of the Puritas neighborhoods.
“We should be making it easier to vote in every possible way,” Slife said. “Any change that causes confusion is not helping ensure that everybody that wants to vote is voting… In a city that already struggles with low voter turnout, this is going to exacerbate a problem that we’re trying to fix.”
Last fall, about 46% of Cleveland voters turned out to vote in the presidential election. That’s less than the county turnout of about 66%.
Per the city’s charter, Cleveland City Council must redraw ward boundaries every decade based on census data. Due to population loss, Cleveland will lose two of its 17 wards. The change takes effect this year when all members of City Council and the mayor are on the ballot.
Primaries for those city races are in September, and the election will be held in November.
But those newly-passed maps will be used for an election as soon as the Ohio primary in May, a Board of Elections spokesperson confirmed.
The city will be operating under 17 wards until the new council is sworn in in January 2026.
Even with Cleveland’s redrawn ward maps, Councilmember Slife’s ward will remain largely the same. Everyone who currently lives in Ward 17 will be in the new Ward 15, but the new ward will gain several hundred residents from other wards.
Regardless, more than 42% of new Ward 15 residents have now been assigned to a different polling location than the fall 2024 election.
“Now, it’s 2 busses to my NEW polling location … instead of one bus… NOt a fan of the changes cuz have mobility issues,” one resident commented on Slife’s Facebook post encouraging residents to verify their polling location.
In a Thursday afternoon press release sent after the initial publication of this story, City Council members demanded the following action from the Board of Elections:
- Provide detailed explanations of the criteria used to determine polling location changes and ensure those changes are necessary to accommodate new ward boundaries
- Implement clearer communication strategies to notify voters of polling location changes well before future elections, including through direct mail, social media, and local outreach efforts
- Revisit and reconsider polling location changes where no compelling reason for the shift has been provided, and prioritize reducing barriers to voter participation
The Board of Elections will notify affected voters by mail ahead of the May election.
Voters can also check their precinct polling location on the Board of Elections’ website here.
