Boards of election must have the final count done by Nov. 25.
Carlisle Schools
Election night results have voters rejecting the repeal of a 1% income tax in the Carlisle School District.
There were 1,273 votes cast for repealing the tax while 1,281 were cast against repealing the tax across Montgomery and Warren counties, according to unofficial final results from those counties’ boards of election. That’s just an eight-vote difference, within the margin of error that could demand a recount.
Warren County Board of Elections Director Brian Sleeth said the number of votes that would force a recount in that ballot issue is 13.
There are 306 provisional ballots in Warren County, Sleeth said. While not all of those are for Carlisle, the Warren County Board of Elections will need to tabulate all of those votes as well as count any late-arriving absentee ballots before determining the results.
As of Election Day, 50.4% of voters voted against repealing an 1% income tax and 49.6% voted for repealing the tax in final, unofficial results.
Voters approved a 1% income tax in 2003. Citizens led an initiative to repeal the tax this November.
If the income tax is repealed, Carlisle superintendent Bob Fischer said the district will lose approximately $3.7 million in annual revenue based on the five-year forecast.
Xenia School Board
In Greene County, the Xenia Board of Education race has a very slim chance to flip a seat, or may be headed for a recount once absentee and provisional votes are counted.
The Greene County Board of Elections has 402 outstanding absentee ballots and 217 provisional ballots cast both before and during Election Day, Deputy Director Jordan Huber said Wednesday.
Unofficial final results from the board of elections show a tight three-way scrum for the second and third seat on the Xenia school board, with a difference of only 38 votes between Tyler Scott — who emerged as the victor for the third seat on the board behind Josh Day and Deborah Williams — and Jennifer Marietta. There is only a difference of 72 votes between Williams in second place, and Marietta in fourth.
The 619 outstanding votes are not organized by precinct, Huber said, so it is unclear how many of those include votes for the Xenia race.
An automatic recount is triggered when the difference between the number of votes cast for a declared winner and loser is less than or equal to 0.5% of total votes cast, according to the Ohio elections manual. Candidates can also request recounts under certain conditions.
Per unofficial final results, Marietta has 13.78% of the vote, while Scott has exactly 14% of the vote. (Williams has 14.19%, and Day has 21.5%).
The board is scheduled to meet and certify the official canvass on Nov. 14, Huber said, which “will determine if we have a recount or not,” he added.
“We will definitely know those answers by then,” he said.
Reporter Jen Balduf contributed to this story.
