“As the numbers came in throughout the night compared to some other counties in our region, we were the lowest,” Rezabek said.
There are about 365,000 eligible voters in Montgomery County. About 20,700 people voted in the August election. There were no major changes between the preliminary election results released by the election board shortly after polls closed on election night and the results approved by the board Thursday.
Despite the low turnout, Rezabek and Elections Board Deputy Director Sarah Greathouse said the staff worked hard to put on the election and are already working on the November election.
“This year is an incredible marathon and we are just barely at the halfway point,” Greathouse said Thursday.
Ohio usually doesn’t have an August primary but did this year because legislative maps drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission were repeatedly ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court. The primary for the Statehouse races were moved from May to August, and one of the maps ruled unconstitutional was ordered to be used for the August primary to make the election happen.
Rezabek noted the stress caused by the repeated rejections of the unconstitutional maps and the challenging timing of those decisions.
“(Election board staff) are getting tired and I would ask that they think about that when they make these decisions,” Rezabek said.
The certification of the August election results sets the stage for the November election. Local voters will have the opportunity to decide races for Ohio governor, U.S. senate seat and local seats such as County Commissioner, auditor and judge. There will also be local tax issues on the ballot.
Contested races Montgomery County voters will decide in November.
Governor & Lt. Governor: Mike DeWine and Jon Husted (R) vs. Nan Whaley and Cheryl L. Stephens (D)
Attorney General: Jeffrey A. Crossman (D) vs. Dave Yost (R)
State Auditor: Keith Faber (R) vs. Taylor Sappington (D)
Secretary of State: Chelsea Clark (D) vs. Frank LaRose (R)
Treasurer of State: Scott Schertzer (D) vs. Robert Sprague (R)
U.S. Senator: Tim Ryan (D) vs. J.D. Vance (R)
Representative to Congress (10th District): David Esrati (D) vs. Mike Turner (R)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Jennifer Brunner (D) vs. Sharon L. Kennedy (R)
Justice of the Supreme Court: Pat Fischer (R) vs. Terri Jamison (D)
Justice of the Supreme Court: Pat DeWine (R) vs. Marilyn Zayas (D)
State Representative (36th District): Addison Caruso (D) vs. Andrea White (R)
State Representative (39th District): Leronda F. Jackson (D) vs. Phil Plummer (R)
State Representative (40th District): Rodney Creech (R) vs. Amy Cox (D)
County Commission: Carolyn Rice (D) vs. Jordan Wortham (R)
County Auditor: Karl Keith (D) vs. Karl George Kordalis (R)
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas: Kim Melnick vs. Tony Schoen
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas: Bob Hanseman vs. Angelina Jackson
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Juvenile Division): Steve Abshire vs. Julie Bruns
About the Author
