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Holiday delays count of Campbell, Smith provisional ballots
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning County Board of Elections won’t count provisional votes until Nov. 29, leaving two close races undecided until at least then.
Those ballots could affect the outcome of races for Campbell mayor and Smith Township trustee.
After the provisional votes are counted Nov. 29, the last day to do so under state law, the results may trigger an automatic recount.
Automatic recounts are done if the margin of victory is 0.5 percent or less after all votes are counted.
Elections-board employees are determining the validity of those who voted provisionally as well as separating the valid votes from those they believe are invalid, said Joyce Kale-Pesta, the board’s deputy director.
The two stacks should be finished by early next week, she said.
The board members will make the final decision on the validity of ballots when they are counted Nov. 29, Kale-Pesta said.
Scheduling conflicts of board members around Thanksgiving caused the delay, she said. Board officials previously had announced they would count provisional ballots Tuesday.
Provisional ballots may be used on Election Day if a voter’s eligibility is in question, such as failing to provide proper identification, or if a voter has changed address or name, and did not update his or her voter-registration information more than 30 days before the election, according to the Ohio secretary of state’s office.
Those without proper identification on Election Day must take proper ID to the board within 10 days after the election for their provisional ballot to be counted.
All election boards in Ohio must check the eligibility of those who vote provisionally before those ballots can be counted.
After the Nov. 8 election, Campbell Mayor William VanSuch had a 20-vote lead over his challenger, 4th Ward Councilman Lew Jackson. VanSuch had 1,448 votes compared with 1,428 for Jackson.
Thirty-four people in Campbell voted provisionally.
In Smith, Trustee Valas W. Winters holds a two-vote lead over Paul E. Freer, 554 to 552. There are seven provisional ballots in Smith.