Polls open Tuesday for special Democratic primary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Polls will open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for a special democratic primary, in which voters will elect a candidate for Ohio's Third Congressional District.
The district, which includes all or part of Highland, Clinton, Montgomery and Warren counties, will choose from David Esrati, 47, of Dayton; Guy Fogle, 48, of Miamisburg and Joe Roberts, 25, of Kettering. The third district must hold a special primary after the withdrawal of Dr. Mark A. MacNealy of Vandalia, who had won the May Democratic Primary.
The winner of Tuesday's special primary will face incumbent Mike Turner (R-Centerville) in the November general election.
The regular precincts will not be open Tuesday, rather voters will cast their ballots at voting centers located at the Hi-TECH Center on North High Street, where the board of elections office is located; or at the Good Shepherd Church in Greenfield. Six precincts will be voting in Greenfield, and 23 precincts will be voting in Hillsboro.
The board of elections had sent out notices informing voters of the voting centers. Voters will resume their normal precincts during the general election in November.
Highland County Board of Elections Director Kate Cameron said the centers are saving the county thousands of dollars, primarily in the number of poll workers they had to hire, and the amount of paper that had to be used to print our ballots.
"We won't know how much money we saved until after the election and we get all our bills together," Cameron said. "Normally we have to pay $15,000 to $16,000 for poll workers and rovers. It's different form every election, but this time we're only spending around $2,000 on poll workers. We will just have 16 at the most, if that many. We're going to decide the morning of, but you have to plan for things you don't really know, because we've never had (an election) like this before."
The office will also be able to print out ballots as they are needed, instead of printing out a set number ahead of time, she said.
The board of elections had likened this election to a special primary held in 2006, to elect a candidate for the same office. Cameron said that election cost an estimated $40,000, but all precincts were open.
"The state will be reimbursing us for this, and we are hoping that we will have it to go right back into the money for the general election in November," Cameron said.
In addition to the voting centers, the board of elections will also be trying out electronic poll books, according to Cameron.
"They are really great, and we believe they will be a big asset," Cameron said.
When using the typical paper poll books, poll or office workers have to input voter information, up to days after the election.
"The electronic poll book will tell you if they are in the right precincts, if they are provisional voters, it just tells you everything," she said. "When we do our voting history, after we are done, we have to go in and put who voted and things like that, and the electronic poll book does it for us."
The county currently has four of the electronic books, but Cameron said costs will likely prohibit the office from acquiring more of the equipment, at least for some time.
The polls are scheduled to close at 7:30 p.m. and Cameron said since a majority of the precincts will be located in the building, tabulating results should not take too long, depending on how long it takes poll workers to bring equipment back from Greenfield.
Results will be available online at www.highlandcountypress.com as soon as they are posted by the board of elections.
Polls will open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for a special Democratic primary, in which voters will elect a candidate for Ohio's Third Congressional District.
The district, which includes all or part of Highland, Clinton, Montgomery and Warren counties, will choose from David Esrati, 47, of Dayton; Guy Fogle, 48, of Miamisburg and Joe Roberts, 25, of Kettering. The third district must hold a special primary after the withdrawal of Dr. Mark A. MacNealy of Vandalia, who had won the May Democratic Primary.
The winner of Tuesday's special primary will face incumbent Mike Turner (R-Centerville) in the November general election.
The regular precincts will not be open Tuesday, rather voters will cast their ballots at voting centers located at the Hi-TECH Center on North High Street, where the board of elections office is located; or at the Good Shepherd Church in Greenfield. Six precincts will be voting in Greenfield, and 23 precincts will be voting in Hillsboro.
The board of elections had sent out notices informing voters of the voting centers. Voters will resume their normal precincts during the general election in November.
Highland County Board of Elections Director Kate Cameron said the centers are saving the county thousands of dollars, primarily in the number of poll workers they had to hire, and the amount of paper that had to be used to print our ballots.
"We won't know how much money we saved until after the election and we get all our bills together," Cameron said. "Normally we have to pay $15,000 to $16,000 for poll workers and rovers. It's different form every election, but this time we're only spending around $2,000 on poll workers. We will just have 16 at the most, if that many. We're going to decide the morning of, but you have to plan for things you don't really know, because we've never had (an election) like this before."
The office will also be able to print out ballots as they are needed, instead of printing out a set number ahead of time, she said.
The board of elections had likened this election to a special primary held in 2006, to elect a candidate for the same office. Cameron said that election cost an estimated $40,000, but all precincts were open.
"The state will be reimbursing us for this, and we are hoping that we will have it to go right back into the money for the general election in November," Cameron said.
In addition to the voting centers, the board of elections will also be trying out electronic poll books, according to Cameron.
"They are really great, and we believe they will be a big asset," Cameron said.
When using the typical paper poll books, poll or office workers have to input voter information, up to days after the election.
"The electronic poll book will tell you if they are in the right precincts, if they are provisional voters, it just tells you everything," she said. "When we do our voting history, after we are done, we have to go in and put who voted and things like that, and the electronic poll book does it for us."
The county currently has four of the electronic books, but Cameron said costs will likely prohibit the office from acquiring more of the equipment, at least for some time.
The polls are scheduled to close at 7:30 p.m. and Cameron said since a majority of the precincts will be located in the building, tabulating results should not take too long, depending on how long it takes poll workers to bring equipment back from Greenfield.
Results will be available online at www.highlandcountypress.com as soon as they are posted by the board of elections.
[[In-content Ad]]