ASHLAND — An already razor-thin win for a Hillsdale school renewal levy just shrank to a hair-thin margin, putting into question its future by triggering a recount.
The discovery came Tuesday afternoon following an Ashland County Board of Elections meeting in which the board voted to certify the Nov. 5 results.
The board did so unanimously; the certification did not change the Nov. 5 results.
But the results of a 1.4-mill Hillsdale renewal levy remains in question.
Hillsdale Local Schools had two renewal levies on the ballot this election cycle — one passed and another failed.
The 1.4 mill levy renewal for the rural school district passed by 46 votes on Election Night, according to the county’s official canvas. But after taking Wayne County voters into account, the margin diminished to just three.
Ashland County
Hillsdale LSD (Ren) Perm. Imp. — 1.4 mills/continuing
- For the Tax Levy: 1,805 (50.65%)
- Against the Tax Levy: 1,759 (49.35%)
- Total votes: 3,564
- Difference: 46 (1.3%)
Wayne County
Hillsdale LSD (Ren) Perm. Imp. — 1.4 mills/continuing
- For the Tax Levy: 70 (38.25%)
- Against the Tax Levy: 113 (61.74%)
- Total votes: 183
- Difference: 43 (23.49%)
Combined Results
- For the Tax Levy: 1,875
- Against the Tax Levy: 1,872
- Total votes: 3,747
- Difference: 3 (0.08%)
State law requires a recount if the total vote difference is less than 0.5%. In this case, the difference is 0.08%, which is well-below the threshold.
The board of elections is now required to notify the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, which will produce an official order. When the BOE receives that order, the board has 10 days to perform a recount.
The recount, which will happen in person at the board of elections office in Ashland, has not been scheduled.
What’s included in a recount?
A recount will involve counting and inspecting every ballot that applied to the renewal levy, said Andrew Keller, an Ashland County Board of Elections member.
That includes “undervotes,” said Shannon Johnson, the BOE’s deputy director.
Johnson said the official canvas did not count 131 ballots for that issue. It means those people either didn’t vote at all on the Hillsdale renewal levy or the voting machine didn’t pick up the vote.
“So the recount will look at those to see if the machines missed anything,” she said.
Ashland County voters use paper ballots, which involves filling out circles for candidates and issues. Sometimes, Keller explained, those circles aren’t filled in all the way, making the markings too faint for the machine to register.
Information on the levies
The levy in question pays for upgrades to buses, technology, cybersecurity issues and the district’s facilities, according to Supt. Catherine Trevathan.
The district’s other levy, a 20.1-mills renewal levy, helps pay for things like staffing, student supplies and the district’s ability to keep the lights on, officials have said.
Hillsdale has two more tries to get it to pass at the polls before the district loses the funds from the levy, according to Cindy Funk, the Ashland County auditor.
Post-election audit
The board also voted on auditing the results from three precincts in Ashland County.
On Dec. 6, the board will audit the results of the following precincts:
- Mifflin Twp: 741 ballots
- Sullivan Twp2: 593 ballots
- Orange Twp2: 515 ballots
The precincts were selected at random. Keller drew the precinct name out of a bucket. He said the law requires all boards of election to perform a post-election audit.
“This is something our board conducts after each election. It’s one of the many checks and balances we have in the law to ensure accurate tabulating,” he said.
Official canvas
According to the county’s official canvas, voter turnout ended up being 77.81% during this election cycle.