Beiersdorfer: Recount of anti-fracking vote shows more getting educated

YOUNGSTOWN

A hand recount of an anti-fracking charter amendment, the so-called Bill of Rights, confirmed that the issue was indeed defeated at the Nov. 3 general election.

During a special meeting Tuesday, the Mahoning County Board of Elections certified a new vote total - 6,151 against, 5,852 for the amendment.

The official result on election night was 6,143 against and 5,839 for the anti-fracking issue, according to the county elections board.

About 15 people attended Tuesday’s board meeting, including anti-fracking supporters who praised the thoroughness and accuracy of the recount process.

“The [election board] counters I worked with checked and double-checked. I saw very little room for error,” said Ed Knight, an anti-fracking advocate.

Beiersdorfer said the margin of the anti-fracking loss went from 345 on election night, to 304 after provisional ballots were counted, to 299 after the hand recount.

Likewise, Beiersdorfer said the trend, with the exception of the November 2014 election when the issue lost by a 15.5 percent margin, is that the margin of defeat is narrowing.

“Over time, more and more people are getting educated,” he said.

Read more about the vote in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.