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Voter turnout slightly lower

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XENIA — Voter turnout was lower than usual at Greene County polls Nov. 7.

Previous odd-year elections tallied around 31-35 percent voter turnout while this election had 28.82 percent turnout, according to Llyn McCoy, director of Greene County Board of Elections.

McCoy said there was a steady number of early voters at the board’s headquarters on Ledbetter Road. But those numbers were still lower than in 2015. Over 3,000 early voters showed in 2015, compared to 2,612 on Nov. 7. Absentee mail-in ballots remained about the same, McCoy reported.

“My impression was that while the State Issues were of interest to our voters local candidates and issues did not appear to drive turnout,” McCoy wrote in an email to this newspaper.

Election Day, she said, went pretty smoothly.

“There were no issues at the polls that stand out in my mind. We had a few technical issues in the morning but that is common and were resolved quickly,” McCoy said.

The board of elections will do a final official count and certify it once outstanding absentee ballots and provisional ballots are in. The official results will be certified at the board’s regular business meeting Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Recounts will not be considered until after the official count is done. The count must have a difference of .5 percent to be considered for recount.

Unofficial counts revealed one tie — a 234-to-234 vote tie in the New Jasper Township trustees race. McCoy said this should be resolved once the official counts are in, and if not, a coin toss will determine the winner.

By Anna Bolton

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Contact Anna Bolton at 937-502-4498.