Secretary of state asks Mahoning elections board to address shortcomings

YOUNGSTOWN

Secretary of State Jon Husted sent a letter Friday to the Mahoning County Board of Elections asking the board to address shortcomings in the handling of ballots and communication among staff, board members, media and the public.

After a mistake led to the double counting of more than 6,000 early-vote ballots on election night in November, Husted ordered the board to conduct a formal internal review of what went wrong.

The board sent Husted a draft report which he reviewed before writing Friday’s letter.

Husted wrote that the board’s report identified “a breakdown in communication on several fronts,” noting that staff never communicated the accidental double-count to board members, media or the public. He asks the board to designate a staff person responsible for communicating necessary updates to board members and a staff person responsible for updating each method of communication the board uses.

He also said the board might consider streamlining the number of methods it manages for reporting election.

Read more about the matter in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.