CAPITAL NOTES: All counties must audit vote

MCT REGIONAL NEWS

COLUMBUS,  Nov. 18 - All counties must audit 5% of presidential vote

All 88 Ohio counties will be required to audit and recount at least 5 percent of the vote for president from the Nov. 4 election to verify the accuracy of the results, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said last week.

If the results of the hand count are off by more than two votes and it is determined there was no counting error, precincts accounting for an additional 3 percent of the presidential vote must be audited, Brunner said.

If those results are off by more than two votes, the entire county vote for president must be recounted by hand, Brunner said.

The directive follows a pilot project and feedback from the March primary in which 11 counties voluntarily completed an audit of 7 percent of the vote.

The audit, using bipartisan teams, may begin no sooner than five days after the official certification of results, which is due Nov. 25, and must be completed between six and 15 days after that certification.

Observers and members of the public will be allowed to watch the auditing process but may not handle any ballots, Brunner said.

 
State elections summit will analyze Nov. 4 voting

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has set Dec. 2 as the date for an "Ohio Elections Summit" to evaluate what worked well and what didn't from the Nov. 4 election.

The summit is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ohio Historical Society near the state fairgrounds.

The event, to be led by Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, is expected to include testimony from elections officials, legislators, election-law experts and the public.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required by Nov. 26 by calling Holly Stutz at 614-728-2981 or e-mailing hstutz@sos.state.oh.us.