Election recount process differs by county

To the editor:

I am writing in regards to the recent Lynchburg-Clay Local School District Board of Education Election that was on November 7, 2023. This election involved three counties: Brown, Clinton and Highland. Once the absentee and provisional ballots were counted in all three counties, the vote came down to the difference of one vote. 

A recount was held in Highland and Clinton Counties on December 5, 2023 and Brown County on December 6, 2023. There were no Write-In votes received in Brown County.

As the Write-In Candidate, I attended both the Highland and Clinton County Recounts. During the Highland County recount, the ballots cast in the Lynchburg polling location were the ballots that were selected to be personally reviewed. A panel of 10 people performed the review under the direction of Deputy Director Michelle Swallen. 

Director Swallen give the directions and explained the process of the recount. Swallen stated that each person needed to consider the intent of the voter’s purpose of their ballot. She stated that if a ballot was marked with all “X’s” then that would be accepted for the purpose of a Write-In; however, if all the bubbles were filled in completely and an “X” on the bubble for the Write-In that wouldn’t be accepted as it would have differed from the rest of the ballot. Swallen went on to state that the bubble needed to be filled in for it to count. It was also explained that as long as the reader can tell the intent of the vote, only one name (meaning either the first or last name) had to be recognizable for the vote to count.

Going into the recount, myself and Ashley Watson were tied in votes. During the review of the 488 ballots, there were five that were located that had my name written in the correct location on the ballot; however, those five ballots didn’t have the bubble filled in. According to Swallen those votes wouldn’t count. Once the hand counting was finished, Hunter Ellis (Board of Election employee) assisted with scanning the ballots into the machine. As Swallen was reviewing the Write-In Candidate portion of the ballot she stated that there were 29 ballots that had my name written in the correct location on the ballot but didn’t have the bubble filled in. Those 29 ballots were from the entire Lynchburg-Clay Local School District that resides in Highland County.

Next, I attended the Clinton County recount. Due to the small number of ballots, they decided to review all ballots that were cast in the Lynchburg-Clay School District. Under the direction of Deputy Director La Tisha Kratzer, two Board of Election employees performed the review. 

During their recount, they located two ballots that had my name written in the correct location of the ballot without the bubble being filled in. The Board committee members were present. After discussion, the members decided to vote to accept those two ballots as it was clear that the voters’ intended to vote for the Write-In Candidate. 

As a Write-In Candidate, but even more importantly, as a voter I do not understand how it is acceptable that one county approves votes presented in the exact same format that another county refuses to accept. 

Referencing the Secretary of State Election Official Manual located on Frank LaRose Secretary of State Website, chapter 10, Canvassing the Vote, page 13:

“If the voter has written in an eligible write-in candidate’s first and last names, the board 
of elections must count this as a valid write-in vote. In this case, the board shall follow 
the manual hand count instructions explained in Chapter 11. 

"If the voter has written in part of an eligible write-in candidate’s name, the board of elections must count a vote in which a voter has written in only the first or last name of the candidate, if there is only one eligible write-in candidate with that first or last name.”

Within the manual, there isn’t a mention of the bubble being required to cast a Write-In vote on the ballot.

As a voter, hand writing a Write-In Candidate’s name takes more intention and effort than simply filling in the bubble on the ballot. All ballots with a Write-In Candidate vote should be allowed to count toward that candidate as the intent was demonstrated when the voter took the initiative to write in the candidates name regardless if the bubble has been filled in or not. 

With the two counties' differing views, there is concern for fair, safe elections with integrity. 

I would like to request that the Secretary of State Department investigates the recounting of the Highland County Lynchburg-Clay Local School District Board of Education Election.

Sincerely,

Stacie D. Rhonemus
Write-In Candidate
Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools