Politics & Government

Tough Luck For Voters Who Think They Received Wrong Ballots

Jeanette Mullane, Stark County Board of Elections director, said voters who think they should have voted in the North Canton School Board race will not have another chance to vote

North Canton Patch has gotten word that several voters believe they received the wrong ballots regarding the on Election Day.

Some people who cast their ballots at the  feel they should have voted for North Canton City School Board and instead got information about Plain Township on their ballots.

Jeanette Mullane, Stark County Board of Elections director, said it’s a common concern she hears every year, and it’s likely the voters were confused about which district they lived in but still received the correct ballots.

The North Canton Church of Christ polling site brought in voters from four precincts (North Canton 2C, North Canton 3B, Plain 10 and Plain 29). She said each of those precincts is a split precinct, meaning the precinct includes more than one school district.

If someone thinks they received a ballot for the wrong district, there’s not a whole lot they can do now, Mullane said.

“If a person voted already and has cast their ballot, it’s essentially in the ballot box, and they do not get a second chance at voting again,” she said. “If they feel they voted in the wrong precinct or if they were given the wrong ballot in error, that needs to be rectified at the precinct on Election Day.”

Mullane said express polls are used to ensure voters don’t receive the wrong ballot, and those were used at the North Canton Church of Christ polling location. The express polls mean voters receive an encoded voter access card, which is programmed to bring up the correct ballot, that they put in their polling machine.

The North Canton City School Board race was close this year, too, with incumbent losing to by 13 votes (4244 to 4231), according to unofficial election results. also won with 5429 votes. Both Kling and Fulton will join the Board for the first time.

There are no plans for a recount, according to the Stark County Board of Elections.


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