No recounts triggered as elections board certifies results of Summit County races

No automatic recounts were triggered and no initial contest results were overturned Tuesday as November's official vote count was certified by the Summit County Board of Elections.

Political junkies had been keeping a close eye on four close races in the county to see if provisional ballots, tallied after a verification process, would force a recount in those contests. Properly postmarked ballots that arrive within a specified time after election day are also considered.

The board said 2,196 provisional ballots and 488 "timely absentees" were added to the county total.

In the Revere Board of Education race, Kasha Brackett led Claudia Mendat Hower by 45 votes for a board member seat. After provisional ballots were counted, that margin increased to 50 votes.

On election night, Northfield Village Council incumbent Gary C. Vojtush Sr. led challenger Yulia Gray by 10 votes. That expanded to 11 votes.

In the vote for Silver Lake at-large council, Suzanne Garrett led James Kurtz by 19 votes. With provisionals, the margin became 20.

In the Barberton mayoral race, Mayor William Judge led challenger Megann Eberhart by 124 votes. Provisional votes narrowed that victory by 12 votes to 112.

Lance Reed, director of the Summit County Board of Elections, said Tuesday that candidates will have five days to request a recount. Under Ohio law, the candidates must pay for a requested recount.

"Today was going back through and approving what the final, official results were," Reed said.

Reed said most aspects of the election went smoothly this year.

As with all elections, the county board is examining the election and identifying areas of potential improvement.

"Everything gets assessed after an election," Reed said.

The director said the board is considering the purchase of equipment to streamline posting of results online.

"We're actually looking at adding some additional equipment to speed that process up," he said. "… We want to make sure we can get those counts out as quickly as possible."

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: No recounts triggered as Summit County certifies November ballot count