Three close races force mandatory recounts

The next time you think your votes don’t matter, ask Jill Amos or Bob Toledo.

Those candidates for Canal Winchester City Council finished the Nov. 7 election one vote apart — Amos had 940 votes, Toledo 939 for the fourth and final council seat.

Because that race — and two others in Reynoldsburg — were so close, Franklin County’s Board of Elections will recount them.

Recounts are mandatory in Ohio when the difference between the winning candidate and the candidate with the next highest number of votes is less than one-half of 1 percent.

After the results of the Nov. 7 election were certified by the Franklin County Board of Elections, it had to wait for election results from Fairfield and Licking counties to determine the winner. Canal Winchester is in Franklin and Fairfield counties. Reynoldsburg is in Franklin, Fairfield and Licking counties.

The top three vote-getters for the Canal Winchester Council were Patrick Lynch, Michael Coolman and Will Bennett. Amos beat Toledo for the final spot by 12 votes in Franklin County but when Fairfield County votes were included, Toledo was one vote behind Amos.

Results were sent to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, which determined the result meant a recount.

In Reynoldsburg, Kristin Bryant and Barth Cotner won council seats, but Stacie Baker and Kelly Cruse finished two votes apart for the third available seat. Baker had 3,145 votes. Cruse had 3,143. Cruse’s fourvote win in Fairfield County caused Baker’s two-vote overall lead. The recount will determine who gets that seat.

Jeni Quesenberry and Joe Begeny won two of the three seats for the Reynoldsburg school board. Robert Barga, with 3,117 votes, and Robert Truex, with 3,110, finished seven votes apart, also requiring a recount. Truex received 276 more votes than Barga in Licking County, resulting in the need for a recount.

By law, officials have to contact each candidate on the ballot in the races to be recounted. The recount must be held this year by Dec. 8, 10 days past Nov. 28 when the Secretary of State determined the races to be recounted.

Franklin County’s Board of Elections will conduct a recount on Monday.