2 independents booted after voting in Dem primary

YOUNGSTOWN

Two independent candidates for Youngstown council seats are off the ballot because they voted in the Democratic primary the day after they filed.

The Mahoning County Board of Elections voted Tuesday to disqualify Amber Beall in the 1st Ward and Ezell Jones in the 6th Ward.

Both filed on the May 4 independent filing deadline, then voted in the Democratic primary a day later.

A 2007 advisory opinion from the secretary of state, based on a 2006 court decision, requires elections boards to disqualify independent candidates if they vote in a party primary after filing as independents.

“We tell them that if you run as an independent, you can’t then vote in the primary,” said Joyce Kale-Pesta, board of elections director.

Beall said she was never told that, but “I’m upset with myself. I should have done more to make sure I” knew the policy.

Meanwhile, Kale-Pesta said redrawn precinct lines in Austintown, Boardman, Beaver and Milton, and in the cities of Campbell and Canfield – where 26 voting precincts in total are being eliminated – should be finished by mid-July.

The board also hired James Shaw of East Liverpool as its fiscal officer clerk at an annual salary of $40,433.

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