Powell
Courtesy photo
By Sam Wildow
TROY — The Miami County Board of Elections met in a special session on Wednesday to re-certify Jena Powell’s (R-Arcanum) petition to be placed on the ballot for re-election to represent Ohio’s 80th House District in the Ohio General Assembly.
This follows directives from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to begin taking the necessary steps to place candidates for the Ohio General Assembly and for the U.S. House of Representatives on the May 3 primary ballot. The directive is pursuant to the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s recent passage of a four-year map for Ohio Congressional districts.
“Her petition is exactly the same,” said Laura Bruns, director of the Miami County Board of Elections.
Bruns added each county Board of Elections is receiving grant money from the state to help cover the costs of preparing the May 3 primary ballots with the new Congressional district data. Miami County will receive approximately $90,000, which can be used to help cover overtime costs, training, expedited printing of ballots, GIS redistricting costs, and more related costs.
According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, county Boards of Elections have to take immediate action to reprogram their voter registration system by incorporating the updated Congressional district boundaries and follow updated procedures for filing and signature validity for Congressional races.
The board unanimously re-certified Powell’s petition for the ballot.
Also on Wednesday, the board rejected a petition from Ricardo Reddick, a Democratic candidate for Ohio Senate District 5 in the Ohio General Assembly. Reddick originally filed his petition at the Miami County Board of Elections of Jan. 31, but Miami County has never been the most populous district for Ohio Senate District 5, Bruns said.
Bruns said, on the advice of the Miami County Prosecutor’s Office, the board transferred Reddick’s petition to Montgomery County.
“They did not believe the transfer was valid,” Bruns said. Bruns said the Montgomery County Board of Elections spoke to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office prior to the Montgomery County board deciding not to accept Reddick’s petition as a valid transfer.
“Unfortunately, it was filed in the wrong county,” said Chairman Dave Fisher prior to making the motion to reject Reddick’s petition to be placed on the May 3 primary ballot. The petition was rejected unanimously.
The last day to register to vote for the May 3 primary is April 4. Early voting begins on April 5. Early voting in Miami County will be held at the Miami County Courthouse located at 215 W. Main St. in Troy. Voters are asked to use the main entrance on the east side of the building, facing the Miami County Safety Building. Please bring identification to the vote center.
The Miami County Board of Election’s next regular meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on March 23 at the board’s office at the Miami County Courthouse.
