Seven of those 47 squeakers occurred in southwest and west-central Ohio.
“These results are proof that every vote can make a difference,” Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said after releasing the results of his review of 110 recounts conducted following the 2013 General Election held Nov. 5, when 35 local races and eight local issues were decided by one vote or through breaking a tie.
“When a single vote can have such a big impact in so many places, you can understand why … we encourage every voter to take their right and responsibility to vote seriously,” Husted said.
Here’s a list of southwest and west-central Ohio races that were decided by the thinnest possible margin:
• Auglaize and Shelby counties, Botkins School District Board of Education member: 1-vote margin
• Darke County, Liberty Township Trustee, 1-vote margin
• Darke, Miami and Shelby counties, Bradford Exempt Village School District board of education member, 1-vote margin
• Preble County Gratis Township Trustee, 1-vote margin
And here’s a list of local issues decided by one vote or less:
• Champaign County Local Option in Urbana precinct 3-B, 1-vote margin
• Montgomery County Local Option Dayton precinct 11-C, 1-vote margin
• Preble County Village of New Paris tax levy, tie
Close races were the norm in the Dayton area on Election Day 2013, with three school levies decided by less than 60 votes each. None was closer than the Beavercreek school levy, which was behind on election night by 29 votes, but ended up winning by 31 votes after provisional and absentee ballots were included in a recount performed a month later by the Greene County Board of Elections.
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