Husted orders Board of Elections to improve ballot process, communication

COLUMBUS — Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has reviewed a report detailing the chain of events that led to the Mahoning County Board of Elections counting 6,179 ballots twice.

Husted orders the board to address shortcomings and adopt policies to correct them. He asks for a final report by Jan. 31.

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The two areas concern “processing ballots on election night” and “communication among staff, board members, media and the public.”

For the former, Husted provides a list of criteria a policy must include including on-site training and a checklist of steps to analyze unofficial results prior to release.

For the latter, Husted recommends streamlining the number of methods it manages for reporting election results to reduce the potential for error or neglect.

“There was also a clear breakdown in the communication of the upload error and how it affected the unofficial results to the media and members of the public,” Husted wrote.

The board must discuss these policies in an open meeting before issuing its final report, Husted ordered.