Write-ins, e-pollbooks, multi-precinct polling places could mean atypical voting experience
Betty Lapp of West Liberty casts an early vote on Friday at the Logan County Board of Elections office, 225 S. Main St. Early voting continues through 4 p.m. today, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday prior to Tuesday’s general election, which will feature a number of local races for township trustees, municipal officials and school board members along with two local ambulance district issues and two statewide issues. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
Voters planning to go to the polls to cast their ballots Tuesday should be prepared for a few noteworthy changes in the voting process.
The first and probably most confusing matter awaiting voters is the high number of write-in candidates that are involved in local races.
Although having write-in candidates on the ballot is not new to the election process, this year’s local races have the largest number in any election in Logan County’s recent history and write-in candidates will affect the outcome of six of the 12 contested races. Nearly all precincts except a few areas in the Ben Logan School District will be affected to some degree by write-in candidates.
The six races that hinge on write-in voting are Bellefontaine City Council-At-Large, Perry and Stokes township trustee, the West Mansfield Village Council and school board races in Indian Lake and West Liberty-Salem school districts.
To vote for a write-in candidate, voters must fill in both the circle next to the blank line and then write the candidate’s name legibly on the line provided, Logan County Election Board Co-Directors Kandie Horton and Adam Brannon said.
In some instances, such as Stokes and Perry townships, Bellefontaine’s Council-At-Large or the uncontested Riverside School Board races, voters will have the option of voting for more than one writein candidate.
Pollworkers will be able to provide a printed list of possible write-in candidates that voters can take into the voting booths with them, but the voter must request the list when getting their ballot, Horton said.
The high number of write-in candidates will also affect how election results are tabulated after polls close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the election directors said.
Election Board members will hand count the thousands of write-in ballots that night, which will significantly delay the announcement of unofficial winners until later in the night or possibly the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“We have a process in place, but we aren’t sure exactly how long it will take,” Horton said. “As soon as the first one rolls in we will start counting, but being the first time it has been this big, we have no way of knowing how long it will take.”
While expecting results one to two hours after the polls close has become the norm in the digital information era, this election will likely take several hours to tabulate.
“We don’t definitely expect to be out of here at 9 p.m. as we have been,” Brannon said.
Pollworkers accepting the ballots are also able to presort ballots that have write-in votes, which should help make the process a little more efficient, the directors said.
Electronic pollbooks
This election is also the first countywide use of electronic pollbooks, which replace the paper-and-pen process to sign for ballots.
Pollworkers have been trained on the devices, which are Apple iPads with election software and voter data uploaded to them. They were used in the May special election that featured only one issue for voters within the village of Russells Point.
The e-pollbooks are intended to help control traffic as voters enter the voting location and pick up their ballot.
Previously voters would approach a table with various divisions based on precinct designations or last name.
Now, voters will enter a single line at the polling place and be called up on a first-come-firstserved basis. The electronic pollbook will then tell the pollworker what ballot to give the voter, who will then sign on the screen of the device with a stylus.
“It’ll be just like Kohl’s on Black Friday,” Horton said. “You get in line and the next available pollworker will call you up.”
It is also at this point in the process that voters who would like to see a list of write-in candidates should request one.
The use of electronic pollbooks has also allowed the election board to consolidate multiple precincts into larger voting locations — the evident example of which will be within the city of Bellefontaine.
All voters of Bellefontaine will go to either the Hilliker YMCA or the Bellefontaine High School to vote. Those who go to YMCA are on the city’s east side from the center line of Washington
Avenue and north while the remainder of the city, including all voters west of Main Street and those on the east side from Washington Avenue south, vote at the high school.
The change in location was also driven by access to power outlets, which are required for the greater role of electronic voting devices.
Each precinct will still have four pollworkers, which means the largest site at the YMCA will have a total of 20 pollworkers and a multi-precinct manager on site, Brannon said.
Early voting
Voters who don’t want to deal with the changes in this election, however, still have a chance to get in on early voting.
The Logan County Election Board office at 225 S. Main St. is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. Any voter from any precinct in Logan County may cast a ballot in person at the office.
On election Tueday, however, voters must vote at their appropriate polling place, which are located throughout Logan County. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
As of Friday, nearly 1,400 early ballots had been cast and 1,500 ballots were requested, the election directors report.