(The Center Square) – Local Ohio election officials call Tuesday’s general election a success after more than 5.6 million people cast a ballot.
The Ohio Association of Election Officials called the state and national focus on winners and losers, rather than voting issues, proof of the success of elections in Ohio.
“We are grateful that Ohioans turned out enthusiastically, passionately and respectfully this election,” association President Paul Adams said. “Our voters showed once again their confidence in our electoral process and the peaceful transition of political power.”
The association represents more than 1,600 election professionals in the state. It’s a bipartisan group that includes all 88 county boards of elections and staff members.
“This is the direct result of state and local election officials working together, in a bipartisan fashion, to conduct fair, accurate and transparent elections,” Burton said.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said boards of elections across the state will be open Saturday during specific hours to help voters reconcile provisional ballots cast in Tuesday’s election.
LaRose said state law requires boards to confirm the eligibility of any voter who cast a provisional ballot and the validity of the ballot itself.
Voters who submitted a provisional ballot and provided acceptable proof of identity at the polls typically don’t need to provide additional identification to the board of elections, but provisional voters often need to provide proof of residency or citizenship or that a previously requested absentee ballot wasn’t already returned.
“Every legal vote matters, and there’s still time for Ohioans who voted a provisional ballot to confirm their information and make sure their vote is included in the certified official results,” LaRose said. “Based on my team’s assessment, there’s several contests, including a high-profile congressional race in northwest Ohio, where the result could potentially change based on the number of outstanding absentee and provisional ballots not included in the unofficial results on election night.”
There were 137,879 provisional ballots statewide, according to LaRose.