CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The Pickaway County Board of Elections issued a statement reassuring voters that there were no issues with the voting machines in the county, amidst concerns raised by several residents on election night.
Residents reported problems with voting machine malfunctions, casting doubt on the accuracy of a closely contested sheriff race that remains officially undecided.
According to one resident, a voting machine had to be rebooted while they were attempting to cast their ballots. Many are now calling for a recount of the votes between incumbent Sheriff Matthew Hafey and his opponent, Dale Thomas.
In response to inquiries about voting machine malfunctions, the Board of Elections issued a somewhat vague statement, saying, “We want to assure you and our residents that all voters who were issued a ballot at the Community Center Men’s Club had their ballot counted on Election Night. We received 995 voter signatures in our poll books and counted 995 ballots on Election Night. The tabulation voting machines we deploy on election day all have internal storage that retains the votes and a scanned image of every ballot cast, as well as the physical ballot cards, which we use for auditing and recount purposes.”
They further explained, “We understand voters’ apprehensions when they see troubleshooting of an equipment issue, especially when done over a phone call which is one of the reasons why we conduct public logic and accuracy testing of all voting equipment before each election. This helps to ensure these machines count, retain, and provide correct information, while we also conduct physical checks and basic maintenance/cleaning.”
The statement concluded, “It is unfortunate when issues occur, especially if it diminishes a voter’s trust in the elections process, which we know our Pickaway county voters can be confident in.”
As of now, the official results of the election have not been released.