2020 primary wrapped up

Results hold as Lake County certifies election results

No outcomes of races changed and none qualified for an automatic recount after the Lake County Elections Board May 19 certified the primary election results.

The board was monitoring the Leroy Townships 2.5-mill additional road levy for a possible recount, but the certified final results fell outside the range needed to trigger an automatic recount.

Those are held when there is a less than 0.5 percent difference in results. The levy failed 50.42 percent to 49.58 percent, according to the certified final results.

Elections officials were also keeping an eye on a Mentor zoning issue to develop the Bolton property southeast of routes 84 and 615. Voters ultimately voted down the proposal 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent, according to the certified final results.

The elections board received 1,355 properly postmarked ballots by mail after the April 28 deadline that were counted in the official final results, director Ross McDonald said. In order for those ballots to be counted, they needed to contain a postmark on for before April 27 and needed to arrive to the Lake County Elections Board by May 8. McDonald said one properly postmarked ballot was received after that deadline.

McDonald praised the work of local post officials.

“I thought they did a fantastic job,” he said. “We had great communication with the post office.”

Lake County had a 30.2 percent turnout in the unprecedented primary election. There were 46,914 ballots cast in what became a vote-by-mail (with some exceptions) election. There are 155,185 registered voters in the county. The county had a 46.69 percent turnout in the 2016 primary election and a 31.43 percent turnout in the 2012 primary.

McDonald also praised the work of his staff in handling the unique challenges this election brought.

“I’m super proud of the staff and their dedication,” he said.

“Certainly this was an unusual experience. In some ways, you were asking people to do precisely what public health officials were telling us not to do, and that’s to go to work and to be around and interact with the public and interact with paperwork. They showed a lot of character and bravery in this time.”