WMOA News

Chief Says Election Went Well, Sign Investigated, Final Count Set for Nov. 19

Posted on: 11/09/2012

Reporter Kylie Smith conducted the interview.

With the dust settled from this week’s general election, WMOA News checked in with the Washington County Board of Elections.

Director Tara Hupp says it was mostly smooth sailing.

“It went very well, very busy,” Hupp says. “We were dealing with the provisional voters – anybody who had a name change or an address change within the county or the state – so we were busy with those folks, answering phones and just doing our jobs while waiting for the precincts came in in the evening. So we were busy but it went well.”

The Board of Elections received several complaints about a sign at a polling place – a church on State Route 339 in Vincent.

“The Lighthouse Baptist Church, which we use as a polling location with three precincts in it, has a sign at the entrance to their parking facilities and they had placed some words on the sign.” Hupp says,”We had some voters call, concerned (about) what was placed on the sign, and felt it was not proper to have that on a sign while it was serving as a polling location."

The sign read “Vote Life, Vote Family, Vote the Bible”.

Ohio election law prohibits any electioneering or campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place entrance.

Hupp says, “A couple members of the Board of Elections went out to the Lighthouse Baptist Church to determine if there was a violation of that election law. We can tell you that the sign…at the entrance to the parking lot and the entrance to our polling location were clear across from the church – on the other side of the church and it was not within a hundred feet.”

There are 1, 222 provisional and absentee ballots which, by law, won’t be counted until November 19. Two issues with narrow results - Ron Feathers’ victory over incumbent Commissioner Cora Marshall and the defeated Children’s Services Levy – could possibly (but not likely) change when those ballots are counted.

Hupp explains what would happen if results shift.

“Dependent on what the shift would be, you’d total up all the votes for that particular or issue, and then you multiply and get your half of one percent. The differential has to be within that half a percent. If it is, it’s a mandatory recount. If it’s not (within a half percent) then that’s considered the final result unless a candidate or an issue committee would request a recount in which the cost is $55 per precinct.”

A countywide recount would cost $3,080.