“We’re in the middle of going through those 6,000-plus provisionals, so we’re still in the middle of that process,” said Montgomery County Board of Elections Director Jeff Rezabek.
A provisional ballot is used to record a vote if a voter’s eligibility is in question. The content of a provisional ballot is no different from a regular ballot, but it is cast “provisionally” until election officials can verify the voter’s eligibility to vote in the particular precinct at that election, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
Some voters who did not bring a valid ID with them to their polling location on Election Day cast provisional ballots. Roughly 60 people came to the Montgomery County Board of Elections before Saturday to “cure” their provisional ballot, but it’s not clear if all 60 people needed to do so, according to the election board.
Mail-in voting was not as popular this year compared to the pandemic presidential election. Roughly 300 eligible ballots — ballots that were postmarked by Nov. 4 and arrived at the election board by the Saturday deadline — rolled in after Election Night.
After Election Night, the election board also received ballots from UOCAVA voters — citizens who are in the military or are overseas — and voters in the Ohio Safe at Home program, Rezabek said.
Ahead of its Nov. 20 certification meeting, Montgomery County’s election board will also meet on Friday to approve remade ballots and authorize the opening of provisional ballots.
A few local races in Montgomery County on Election Night were within percentage points of each other.
On Election Night, former Trotwood mayor and Republican Mary McDonald was ahead of Democratic incumbent Montgomery County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman by less than one percentage point, with McDonald taking home 50.56% of votes, according to final, unofficial results.
Other contested races saw differences of only a few thousand ballots. This includes the race between Republican Lori Kennedy and Democrat incumbent Stacey Benson-Taylor for Montgomery County recorder; and the race between Republican Kate Baker and Democratic incumbent Judy Dodge for a second Montgomery County commission seat.
Ballots counted after Election Night have impacted local races in Montgomery County in the past. In 2022 Montgomery County commission candidate Jordan Wortham was leading on Election Night but narrowly lost to incumbent Carolyn Rice after provisional and mail-in ballots were counted.
Early voters who are unsure if their ballot was received and counted by their local election board should not rely on their voting history detailed in their profile on the Montgomery County Board of Elections website, which will be updated after the official canvass later this month, Rezabek said. Instead, they can check their absentee ballot status.
About the Author
