Board of Elections rejects 123 primary ballots, will certify results May 19

SHEFFIELD TWP. — Citing a variety of errors, broken rules and regulations, the Lorain County Board of Elections on Thursday rejected 123 ballots that were cast in the May 5 primary. The Board of Elections on Thursday voted to reject 87 out of 292 provisional ballots cast, or 30 percent, and 36 absentee ballots out of 3,840 cast, or 1 percent of those. The 87 provisionals that were rejected were turned down for a number of reasons: 45 voters did not have proper, valid state or federal ID. 37 voters were not registered to vote in Ohio. You must be eligible to vote, registered at least 30 days prior to an election and keep your registration updated and current for your vote to count. Two voters gave invalid, incomplete addresses. Two voters cast ballots in the wrong precinct and wrong polling location. They told poll workers when they showed up at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, just before polls closed, that there was not enough time to vote in the correct location.That's not a valid reason, elections officials said. One person double-voted, casting an early, in-person ballot first on April 14 and then again at the polls on Election Day, Deputy Elections Director James Kramer said. That case will be referred to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office and Lorain County Prosecutor's Office for investigation, elections officials said. Among mail-in absentee ballots, 32 missed the deadline to be counted, Director Lisette Gracia said. "If it was postmarked prior to Election Day but didn't get here by Election Day we couldn't count it," board member Anthony Giardini said. That's due to a change in Ohio law that eliminates the former four-day grace period following the election during which late ballots could still be counted. Senate Bill 293 said all mail-in absentee ballots must now be received by the Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day when polls close. Board President Marilyn Jacobcik said anyone concerned about whether their ballot will arrive on time is encouraged to track it. That can be done online through at ohiosos.gov/directories/ballot-tracking. Four mail-in absentee ballots did not include proper ID and also were rejected, officials said. Turnout in the election was just over 25 percent of eligible registered voters, officials said. The board will meet again at 3 p.m. May 19 to certify all the results of the May 5 primary. Still unknown is the official result of the Republican primary race between incumbent county Commissioner Jeff Riddell and challenger Will Schlechter. Riddell was leading Schlechter by 17 votes when polls closed May 5. Riddell had 9,677 votes to Schlechter's 9,660 votes, according to unofficial results. Ninety-eight provisional Republican primary ballots were still to be counted at the end of the night. The race is likely to result in an official recount. The winner of the Schlechter/Riddell contest will face Democrat Carolyn White in November. The board of commissioners has three seats, all currently held by Republicans. Terms are four years each. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.