Official Election results released today by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections show that four contests ended in tie votes. This includes the candidates in the race for Republican State Central Committee, Senate District 23 (woman). Candidates Doris Durica and Candice Miller both received 5,128 votes.

This situation rarely occurs and normally only happens in small races with low numbers of votes. But in this case over 10,000 ballots were cast. “I have been in the election business for over ten years and I have never seen anything of this magnitude,” said Pat McDonald the Director of the Board of Elections. “With the thousands of ballots cast in this race the chances of a tie are extremely low. This also proves once again that every vote counts and that a single ballot can make the difference between who wins and who loses,” said McDonald.

The next step in the process for all of the tied races will be to flip a coin to determine the winner at today’s Board meeting. The contest will then be subject to an automatic re-count. If a tie remains following the re-count the outcome of the coin toss will stand.

There are also coin flips scheduled for the following seats:

Dem County Central Com East Cleveland -03- A
Jacqueline Goodrum    36   41.38 %
O. Mays                        36   41.38 %
James Page                 14   16.09 %
(Write-In)                        1   1.15 %

Dem County Central Com Shaker Heights -00- A
Mary O. Boyle              81   50.00 %
Lisa D. Nguyen            81   50.00 %

Dem County Central Com Middleburg Heights -02- A
David Dean                    2  50.00 %
Dan Jenkins                   2  50.00 %

The official results will also lead to automatic re-counts for two issues because the differences in the vote totals are less than one half of one percent:

Issue 2: Beachwood CSD – Bond Issue and Tax Levy:
For the Bond Issue and Levy              2,030  49.94%
Against the Bond Issue and Levy       2,035  50.06%

Issue 12: North Olmsted Bond Issue
For the Bond Issue                             3,300  49.77%
Against the Bond Issue                      3,331  50.23%

Author: Mike West, Media and Voter Education Specialist, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Today is Election Day! Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Voters will have many important decisions to make from federal offices to state and local issues in this Primary Election.

Reminders for Voters
Voters are reminded to bring proper ID with them to the polls today. This includes:

• Unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state ID
• Military ID
• Current (within the past 12 months) utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document with your name and current address

Any voter that does not know where to vote can look up their polling location on our website. They may also download a sample ballot to review prior to voting.
Click here for “My Voting Info”

Vote-by-Mail Ballots
People who vote by mail must be aware that the deadline to mail their ballot has passed. Voted ballots may only be returned to the Board of Elections offices and must be received by 7:30 p.m. tonight. Voters may utilize a special ballot box located in the Board of Elections parking lot at 2925 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland (Map). Ballots cannot be dropped off at a voting location on Election Day.