Allen County Board of Elections clerks Lisa Burger, left, and Beth Harnishfeger look over the ballots for the August special election Thursday.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — Michelle Wilcox finished ordering ballots to be printed for the August election when a message came through: New language for Issue 1 — the proposed constitutional amendment to make it harder for Ohioans to amend the state’s constitution — sent by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office contained an error.
She needed to order the ballots again.
This is the third version of Issue 1 Wilcox has seen since lawmakers approved the August election in May, days before overseas military ballots are due to be mailed.
The Ohio Supreme Court OK’d the special election in a party-line ruling last week, overruling critics who say lawmakers can’t disregard their own law prohibiting August elections. But a separate court ruling ordered the Ohio Ballot Board to revise language contained within Issue 1 that critics described as misleading.
Days after the state office sent the new language to county election boards, it notified election workers Tuesday of a transcription error in the sample ballot, though an email from the SOS office said it will incur all costs associated with corrections.
“We’re tired; we’re stressed; we’re overworked,” said Wilcox, director of the Auglaize County Board of Elections, which is finishing paperwork from the May primary and accepting petitions for the November election while preparing for the August special election.
Auglaize County spent $49,000 on last year’s August election, Wilcox said. Only 18% of registered voters cast a ballot, exceeding the state’s 8% turnout.
“We do the same thing that we would do for a presidential (election), and then you have turnout of 18%,” Wilcox said. “It’s disheartening.”
Turnout in August elections is so low, and the cost of administering the special elections so high, that lawmakers adopted legislation last year to limit August elections.
Months later, after attempts to pass legislation allowing the August election failed, the legislature adopted a resolution to set the Aug. 8 election for Issue 1, which would impose stricter signature requirements and raise the threshold for future constitutional amendments to pass from a simple majority of 50% plus one to 60%.
A citizen-led effort to enshrine reproductive rights into the Ohio constitution is under way to bring the question before voters by November. If Issue 1 passes, the anticipated reproductive rights amendment will need at least 60% approval to pass.
“We proceeded as if it was going to go on,” said Kathy Meyer, director of the Allen County Board of Elections. “It’s better to be prepared than not.”
A lot of work goes into each election: programming ballots, testing machines, recruiting pollworkers to ensure things run smoothly on Election Day.
The state’s error didn’t hinder preparations in Putnam County, which was programming ballots when the new Issue 1 language came through Tuesday.
“It all worked out in our favor,” said Karen Warnecke, Putnam County Board of Elections director.
But election workers in Auglaize County worked late Tuesday correcting the error, Wilcox said.
“People are frustrated,” said Luke Scott, a Republican and deputy director for the Auglaize County Board of Elections. “You’re trying to do what’s been asked of you when they throw more on you and more on you.”
Scott added, “I’m a Republican, Michelle’s a Democrat, but we’re election administrators first. The partisanship that has trickled down to elections does make the job a lot more stressful.”
AUGUST ELECTION TURNOUT
A look at turnout from the August 2022 special election:
• Allen County: 18%
• Auglaize County: 18%
• Putnam County: 11.5%
• Ohio: 8%
KEY DATES
• Monday, July 10: Deadline to register to vote
• Tuesday, July 11: Early voting begins
• Tuesday, Aug. 8: Special election day in all 88 counties
