Steve Quillen, Miami County elections director, resigned Thursday evening, less than three weeks before the Nov. 6 presidential election.

Quillen, in a hand written, one sentence statement, told the Board of Elections he was leaving “due to the stress of the upcoming presidential election.” A Republican, he has served as elections director since March 2002.

Quillen said Friday he is confident the elections office staff can move forward and conduct a smooth election. “The election is in good hands. Everything is going to be fine,” he said.

Quillen said he had been “looking at the forest instead of the trees” while attempting to juggle pre-election and Election Day tasks. He said he was stressed with the convergence of the absentee ballot delay, early voting being extended until the day before the election and the daily early voting, among other tasks.

“I had to really step back and control my tongue,” he said. Asked if there was a negative environment in the elections office due to his stress, Quillen said, “I didn’t want it to go that far, to do that.”

“All I could concentrate on was all I had to do before the election. I am 65 years old and don’t need this stuff,” he said.

The elections board met in an executive session Thursday afternoon with county Prosecutor Gary Nasal, its legal counsel, to discuss personnel issues, then called a special meeting Friday morning.

The board accepted Quillen’s resignation Friday. It also asked Pam Calendine, deputy director, to contact the Secretary of State’s Office to ask for what board Chairman Roger Luring described as “assistance on a temporary basis” for the election.

“Nothing occurred here that in any way affects the integrity of the election,” board member Jose Lopez said. He said he and fellow Republican board member Robert Huffman Jr. would contact party officials about nominating someone to fill the vacant role.

Secretary of State spokesman Matt McClellan confirmed that Miami County’s BOE had been in contact Friday, but he said the secretary’s guidance was simply to get the position filled as soon as possible, even if it has to be on an interim basis, given how close the election is.

“The hiring and replacing of employees of the board is the responsibility of the board members, and we’re confident they’re going to handle the situation appropriately,” McClellan said.

Luring announced Quillen’s resignation to elections personnel who were on hand at the elections office to assist with early voting.

“These things happen on the eve of an election,” he said. “This is a bump in the road, but a small bump and I know you will get us through this.”

Luring said the resignation has “absolutely nothing to do” with a delay in absentee ballots being sent to requesting voters.

“He has submitted his resignation. We thank him for his many, many years of service. He has brought us through a number of elections under tough circumstances,” Luring said.

The board was told Friday that Dayton Legal Blank, the company hired to send out the absentee-by-mail ballots, had notified the office saying all ballots requested had been sent out as of Friday morning.

McClellan said the Secretary of State’s office is not aware of or investigating any significant problems with the election process in Miami County.

The board also voted Friday to terminate the employment of a temporary election employee Monika Wanamaker. Luring would not comment on any connection between the resignation and the termination.

Changes in Board of Election leadership are not unusual, but McClellan said he’s not aware of any others in Ohio happening so close to Election Day recently.

Last year, Tracy Smith quit his post as Greene County BOE Director on Sept. 30, putting veteran members of Greene County’s staff into scramble mode. But that was six weeks before the election, and not in a presidential year.

Montgomery County BOE Deputy Director Steve Harsman said Champaign County lost both their director and deputy director last December. Montgomery County sent them a team to help them finish the candidate petition process by the deadline for the March 2012 primary.

Harsman said Miami County’s Deputy BOE Director, Pam Calendine is “a seasoned election official,” but added that Montgomery County’s board is willing to help their neighboring county.

“This is a tough business, and presidential elections are the toughest test of the whole cycle,” Harsman said. “If you are not prepared or don’t have thick skin, this is a very, very overwhelming job.