Board sets a date to ratify race results

Ballots are still arriving at the board of elections.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- The Columbiana County Board of Elections will certify the local race results Nov. 19.
John Payne, elections director, said that the official count will begin Monday.
Ballots are still arriving at the elections board. Some are valid and some are not.
Military personnel serving oversees have 10 days after the election to get their ballots to the board.
On Tuesday, Payne showed a military ballot that had just arrived although it was postmarked Nov. 2, which was Election Day. Payne said that it would not be counted because military personnel serving in the country had to have their ballots to the elections board by Nov. 2.
The county has about 1,200 uncounted ballots, including 120 provisional ballots, mostly from people who had recently moved to the county, Payne said.
According to election night results, Republican Charles Blasdel of East Liverpool kept the 1st District state representative seat with 495 votes over Democrat newcomer Frank Rayl. Republican Recorder Jeff Hochadel lost by 618 votes to Democrat Craig Brown.
Question about taking over
Payne has asked the Ohio Secretary of State's office if Brown should take over as recorder after the votes are certified.
Winners normally take office in January if the outgoing officeholder was initially elected. But that may not apply if the officeholder was appointed.
Hochadel was appointed to the seat two years ago. He said he believed that Brown would take over this year after the vote certification.
Justin Palmer of Salem, the college student who helped to organize successful initiative petitions involving city firefighters, did not vote because he did not receive the absentee ballot he requested.
Payne said Palmer asked that the ballot be mailed to him in Washington, D.C. It never arrived.
"We had it out of here in plenty of time," Payne said.
Palmer and past and current Salem firefighters put two initiatives on the ballot that were approved by almost two-third of the voters. They require that council put any plans to eliminate the fire department or form a fire district with Perry Township go to another public vote.
Payne said he was unable to find out why the ballot never reached Palmer.
wilkinson@vindy.com