WESTON—Turnout in the Village of Weston lagged the rest of Wood County in the Nov. 3 general election, with 476 of the village's 876 registered voters casting ballots, or 54.3%, according to unofficial precinct results from the Wood County Board of Elections. Countywide turnout was 62.2%, and the Weston Township Willow precinct came in at 68%, with 331 of 487 voters.
No issues from the Village of Weston, Weston Township, the Weston Public Library or Otsego Local Schools were on the ballot (ballot guide).
Ohio House: 75th District Race May Go to a Recount
Weston's state representative race is too close to call. Incumbent Republican Haraz Ghanbari leads Democrat Richard Rettig 23,193 to 23,067, a margin of 126 votes, or about 0.3%, in the unofficial count.
- Weston Village: Ghanbari 265, Rettig 201
- Weston Township (Willow): Ghanbari 218, Rettig 108
Ohio law orders an automatic recount of a state legislative race when the certified margin is one-half of 1% or less. Board of Elections Director Julie Baumgardner said that on the current totals, the candidates would have to be separated by more than 232 votes to avoid a recount, according to the Sentinel-Tribune and BG Independent News.
Wood County still had 1,355 provisional ballots and 58 overseas and military ballots outstanding after election night, according to a Nov. 5 report by the Ohio Society of CPAs that cited the Secretary of State's office. Election officials told BG Independent News that many of the provisional ballots were cast in the Bowling Green State University precinct, which is in the 75th District. Provisional voters and overseas ballots had until Nov. 7 to be completed or received.
The Board of Elections is scheduled to review provisional ballots Nov. 17 at 8:30 a.m. and to certify results on Nov. 18, according to BG Independent News. Ohio counties must certify their results by Nov. 24.
County Commissioner
Republican Ryan Lee won the open commissioner seat countywide with 26,662 votes (49.9%), ahead of Democrat Brenna Reynolds with 24,822 (46.4%) and independent Joseph DeMare with 1,964 (3.7%).
- Weston Village: Lee 248, Reynolds 203, DeMare 15
- Weston Township (Willow): Lee 216, Reynolds 100, DeMare 10
County Auditor
Republican Matthew Oestreich won countywide, 28,940 (53.7%) to 24,922 (46.3%) for Democrat Mark Wongrowski.
- Weston Village: Oestreich 271, Wongrowski 195
- Weston Township (Willow): Oestreich 227, Wongrowski 97
Levies
The Wood County Committee on Aging's 1-mill, five-year renewal for senior services passed countywide, 39,550 to 14,568 (73.1%). Weston Village voters backed it 322 to 143, and Willow precinct voters 218 to 106.
In neighboring Milton Township, voters renewed the township's 2.5-mill, five-year levy for streets and bridges, 277 to 126 (68.7%).
The Wood County District Public Library renewal, which passed 18,177 to 6,628, was not on the ballot in Weston Village or Weston Township's Willow precinct; it appeared in 53 of the county's 99 precincts, according to the precinct results. Weston is served by the independent Weston Public Library rather than the county library district.
Counted and Called, But Not Yet Official
All figures are unofficial. Counts can change once the board rules on provisional ballots and adds late overseas and military ballots, and the 75th District result will not be final until any recount is complete. The BG Independent's reports a Nov. 18 deadline from the county, and the state's Nov. 24 deadline for state-wide certification.
Sources: Wood County Board of Elections, unofficial statement of votes cast by precinct (Nov. 4) · Wood County Board of Elections, unofficial summary results · Sentinel-Tribune, Nov. 4 results · BG Independent News, Ghanbari-Rettig race hinges on provisional ballots · Ohio Society of CPAs, Ohio House races in recount territory · BG Independent News, unofficial local results