Early in-person voting begins Today for residents deciding whether to remove Mayor Deidre Petrosky from office.

The Trumbull County Board of Elections announced that voting opens Jan. 6 ahead of the special recall election scheduled for Feb. 3.

Registered voters in the city of Cortland can cast ballots in person starting today at the Trumbull County Board of Elections, located at 2947 Youngstown Rd. SE in Warren.

The board has established specific hours for early voting leading up to the Feb. 3 election:

  • Jan. 6 to Jan. 9: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Jan. 12 to Jan. 23: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed Jan. 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day).
  • Jan. 26: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Jan. 27: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  • Jan. 28 to Jan. 30: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Jan. 31: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Feb. 1: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The deadline for registering for this election was Jan. 5. Residents have until 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 to submit applications for absentee ballots.

City council scheduled the election in December after the clerk of council certified a recall petition containing 488 valid signatures. Under the city charter, a petition requires signatures from at least 20 percent of the electors who voted in the last general election. Organizers submitted 511 signatures on Nov. 17, well above the 381 required to trigger the process.

The recall effort stems from accusations regarding the mayor's management of city operations. Resident Gerald Bayus, who helped organize the petition, publicly accused Petrosky of bullying city employees and misusing municipal funds. During council meetings in late 2025, several council members expressed support for the recall or noted the difficulties of working with the administration.

Petrosky has denied the allegations, stating that her hiring decisions were within her legal authority as mayor. She refused to resign following the petition's certification, arguing that the claims against her were not supported by facts and that she had a responsibility to finish ongoing city projects.

The ballot question asks voters, "Shall Deidre Petrosky be allowed to continue as Mayor of the City of Cortland?". A majority affirmative vote is necessary for her to retain the office.