“The good news is it was really small, and no one’s vote was affected, but they did receive the wrong envelope,” Corbin told the Journal-News, adding, “it’s a really small percentage, but of course, anything like kind of that puts people on edge, but luckily this is a fixable problem.”
Originally they thought up to 30 ballots might have been impacted, but when they contacted the voters they discovered the number is closer to 15.
He said the vendor uses automation to ensure the correct ballot goes to the right voter, and he is not sure why, but 30 were handled manually, and the workers picked up the wrong envelopes, so it was “human error.”
Clermont County Deputy BOE Director Chris Dennison said none of their ballots had gone astray, and they worked quickly with Butler County to right the wrong.
“There are enough checks in place that even if that ballot is returned to us, it’s inside a security ID envelope, and we have a high-speed verifier that will kick it out,” Dennison said. “Then we verify it’s not ours, and we give it to Butler and they count it like any other ballot. The only difference is it’s delayed by a day.”
The Journal-News reached out to Graphic Village, and they had no comment.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a security directive earlier this year and awarded $10,000 to each of the 88 counties to implement them.
The directive incorporates a 31-point checklist that establishes new security standards for vendors, strengthens physical security requirements, prevents purchasing of equipment from “dangerous” foreign entities, and modernizes cybersecurity capabilities.
“Ohio has established a national reputation among election security experts because we refuse to rest on our laurels,” LaRose said. “Threats are out there every day, both foreign and domestic, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure our boards are ready.”
The election is less than two weeks away, and Corbin said 6,300 people have cast ballots in-person and they have mailed out 22,725 ballots, so far they have received 8,678 mail-ins back.
The upcoming Nov. 8 election has a jam-packed ballot with more than a dozen statewide races, including the governorship, U.S. Congress and Senate, state representatives, county auditor and commissioner and a host of tax levy questions.
Corbin said four years ago the voter turnout was 54% which is pretty typical for statewide races, compared to the 2020 presidential when 73% of the 256,930 registered voters cast ballots.
The BOE offices are tucked away off the beaten path, and in 2020 voters trying to get there snarled traffic in the area with traffic backing up on Ohio 129, Hampshire Drive and Princeton Road. The left turn signal on Ohio 129 onto Hampshire Drive isn’t long enough to let many cars through, and there is no stop sign at Princeton and Hampshire, so left turns are difficult.
Corbin said they are preparing for the worst, so detours will be in place, beginning Friday they will close northbound Hampshire from Ohio 129 to Princeton Road.
“Nobody is parking in the grass,” Corbin said of the traffic situation so far and adding “seems like traffic hasn’t become a problem yet.”
The BOE office has been open for in-person voting during the week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and they will be open this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Next weekend the hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
Mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 7 but can be received up until 10 days later and still be counted. The drop-off box outside the BOE will be locked at 7:30 p.m. when the polls close. Corbin said the first results should be online by 8 p.m.
All information pertaining to the Nov. 8 election is available on the BOE website elections.bcohio.gov.
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