Results of election to be revealed Tuesday

Stark County opened the final ballots, but won't yet release the results.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
The results of the closest state legislative race during the recent primary won't be revealed until Tuesday.
On Friday, the Stark County Board of Elections opened 27 provisional ballots and 31 absentee ballots cast during the final days of the May 2 primary that will determine the Republican nominee in the 61st Ohio House District race.
But the results of those 58 votes won't be revealed until Tuesday when the board meets to certify the ballot, said Jeanette Mullane, its deputy director.
The board is under no legal obligation to reveal the results of those 58 votes until it certifies the ballot, said James Lee, an Ohio Secretary of State spokesman.
In comparison, the Mahoning County Board of Elections opened provisional ballots in this and other races Thursday inviting candidates and the press to watch the proceedings. The Mahoning board meets Monday to certify the primary ballot results.
Before the Mahoning board opened the 10 provisional ballots, Brant Luther, of Alliance, was leading Randy Pope, also of Alliance, by 14 votes. Pope received seven of the 10 provisional votes in Mahoning. That reduced Luther's lead over Pope to just 10 votes out of 8,000 counted.
Encompasses three counties
The 61st District includes portions of Mahoning, Stark and Tuscarawas counties and all of Carroll County.
The election boards in Tuscarawas and Carroll counted provisional ballots and certified their ballots earlier this week.
Luther, a former Stark County auditor and Alliance councilman, won his home county with 60 percent of the vote. Pope, a former Alliance councilman, won the district's three other counties.
People vote on a provisional basis if they've recently moved before the primary. County election boards then determine their eligibility as voters and count the votes of those who are eligible.
Stark also decided not to count the 31 absentee ballots cast in the House race on May 2 and the four days prior to primary, Mullane said. Board employees wanted to verify that those 31 people didn't vote twice: at their precincts and absentee, Mullane said. All 31 voters followed the proper procedure, she said.
Both candidates want to get the certification process finished. Because the margin of victory will be 0.5 of 1 percent, it will be subject to an automatic recount.
The GOP primary winner faces Democrat Mark K. Okey of Carrollton in the November general election.
The seat is being vacated at the end of the year by state Rep. John Boccieri, a New Middletown Democrat running for the 33rd Ohio Senate District seat.
skolnick@vindy.com