Area elections directors grade Election Day

ALLEN COUNTY — After months of campaigns, the 2022 elections have come to an end. Following the Nov. 8 election night, Allen, Auglaize and Putnam County Boards of Elections employees recall how the day turned out.

According to the Putnam County Board of Elections Director Karen Warnecke the voter turnout was higher than expected at 63%. Warnecke said overall it was a good and busy day.

Following Election Day, the board of elections members now have the duty of completing reports.

“We’re doing our reports that need to get to the Secretary of State and getting everything uploaded on our website,” said Warnecke. “All the reports [were] sent to the Secretary of State this morning. There is a lot of work behind the scenes. Overall it was a good day, people came out to vote.”

In Allen County, Election Day with smooth with little to no bumps in the road. Allen County Board of Elections Director Kathy Meyer weighed in.

”The election went very well,” said Meyer. “We had very few hiccups. We had one tabulator machine that we had an issue with first thing in the morning. The turnout was just under 49.2%. This will change with the official election. It was higher than expected. Considering the contested races this time it is not really surprising.”

Auglaize County Board of Elections Director Michelle Wilcox weighed in on the election.

Wilcox said the voter turnout was around 57.63%.

“The turnout is about the same as the last Gubernatorial race in 2018,” said Wilcox. “There are still 554 absentee and provisional ballots that if they are valid will be counted into the final, so our percentage may go up a little bit. We have the final certification scheduled on Nov. 23. That is when the additional ballots will be counted into the official results.”

Behind every great election is a room full of great poll workers. Wilcox recalled the success of the election and the people who helped make it all happen.

“I would like to give a shoutout to our poll workers,” added Wilcox. “They are the reason the elections work so well because of their dedication. Without them, we would not be able to run our elections. We just want to say thank you.”

Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.