News / Articles

Geauga Board of Elections Certifies November 4, 2025 Election Results; 

Automatic Recounts Scheduled for Kenston Board of Education and Bainbridge Township Trustee Races

Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) -  11/11/2025 

Meeting Info: Special Meeting on November 11, 2025 at 9:00 am in BOE Conference Room at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite 004 (Basement), Chardon, OH, 44024. In-person and virtual, via Microsoft Teams. Observer Note: Other county offices were closed in observance of Veterans Day.

 

Agenda: An agenda was provided in advance.

Attendance: Present were:

• Board Chair - Dennis Pavella

• Board Vice Chair - Joan Windnagel

• Board Member - Janet Carson

• Board Member - Richard Piraino

• Director - Michelle Lane

• Deputy Director - Nora McGinnis 

• Staff - Scott Daisher (as needed)

• Staff - Laura Amick (as needed)
  

County Representatives: None

Appointed Election Observers: None

Other Attendees: Virtually, Ohio Secretary of State Liaison Dustin Russell and a member of the public who joined at 11:00 am. In person, a member of the public and this LWV Geauga Observer. 

Call to Order - Shortly after 9:00 am.

Minutes - None

Bills - Bills totaling $1,319.82 were approved for payment without discussion:

• $1,083.00 to various BOE workers for Election Day mileage reimbursements

• $150.00 to Munson Township for polling location cleaning fees

• $86.71 to DEX Imaging for monthly copier contract

ADP Update - None

CERTIFICATION OF NOV 4, 2025 GENERAL ELECTION

1) Review of 4 Day Absentee Ballots  - These ballots were received during the 4 days following Election Day, on November 5-8.  They must be postmarked no later than November 3, the day before Election Day.  Examined 59 such ballots, accepting 43 and rejecting 16 as follows:

• Accepted (43 ballots in total): 

  • 16 ballots that were postmarked November 3 or earlier 

  • 2 ballots scanned by USPS by November 3 but postmarked after November 3

  • 9 ballots that were postmarked November 3 by a local post office, then scanned November 4 by the Cleveland Post Office and arriving to BOE by November 8

  • 7 ballots lacking a postmark but arriving at BOE on November 4 

  • 6 ballots lacking a postmark but having a USPS scan by November 3

  • 2 ballots where the board was able to ascertain the ID of the voter and then determine the voter’s signature corresponded to the signature on file.

  • 1 ballot with returned 11-S Form envelope corrections

• Rejected (16 ballots in total):  

  • 14 ballots that were postmarked November 3 by a local post office, then scanned November 4 by the Cleveland Post Office and arriving to BOE after November 8

  • 2 ballots lacking a postmark and arriving after November 4

A bipartisan team took the approved additional ballots for processing.

Observer Comment: Board members expressed concern about convoluted USPS practices that send local Geauga mail to Cleveland for additional processing, likely contributing to the late arrival of the 14 ballots they were forced to reject.

2) Review of Provisional Ballots - These ballots are typically completed when there are questions about a voter’s ID, registration, or polling location.  Voters had until November 8 to “cure” any deficiencies. Geauga BOE staff researched the information provided on each provisional ballot envelope and coordinated efforts with other Ohio BOEs to ascertain eligibility and to confirm no duplicate votes were cast. Examined 103 provisional ballots, accepting 78 and rejecting 25 as follows:

• Accepted (78 ballots in total): 

  • 8 ballots where the voter requested an absentee ballot, never voted the absentee ballot, and then opted to instead vote on Election Day

  • 20 ballots where voters changed their address within Geauga County

  • 20 ballots where voters were registered in Ohio but not in Geauga County

  • 9 ballots where voters changed their name

  • 6 ballots for voters without photo ID, as permitted for those filing Form 12-O, which is an Affidavit of Religious Objection

  • 7 ballots for voters who cured their ID issues 

  • 1 curbside ballot that was unreadable by the scanner but reviewed by board for voter intent

  • 7 ballots where the voter’s name was not in the poll pad, including:

    • 1 ballot where the voter was incorrectly assumed deceased and removed from the voter roll. 

    • 1 ballot where the voter registration information was difficult to read

    • 1 ballot where the poll pad dimmed, making its voter registration information difficult to read

    • 1 ballot where voter’s information was incorrect in the BOE system

    • 3 ballots for voters having Little Mountain Rd, Mentor, OH mailing addresses. Poll workers incorrectly concluded these were Lake County voters.

• Rejected (25 ballots in total):

  • 15 ballots with ID issues, including 12 with expired IDs and 3 that failed to correctly write the ID on the provisional ballot envelope

  • 7 ballots for voters not registered in Ohio

  • 1 ballot where the voter did not provide their correct address

  • 1 ballot where the voter insisted upon voting in the wrong polling location

  • 1 ballot that was scanned in the DS-200 on Election Day in error and therefore already included in the unofficial count.

There were 2 “fleeing voters,” which describes a situation where the voter departed without completing their ballot or without completing the DS-200 scan of their ballot.  Mr. Pavella explained that the bipartisan teams are not permitted to complete the DS-200 scan on behalf of the voter.  These ballots were never included in the vote totals, so no action is required.

A bipartisan team took the approved additional ballots for processing.

Write-In Reviews - For those ballots containing a write-in entry for the Burton Village, Claridon Township, Chester Township and Chardon School Board races, a bi-partisan team of board members reviewed scanned images of the voters’ ballots in order to ascertain each voter’s intention and assign the vote to the proper candidate.

Poll Worker Payroll - The board voted 4-0 to appropriate up to $63,000 for payment of Election Day poll workers.

Holiday Schedule - The board unanimously approved a motion to give employees December 24 off with pay, in addition to the traditional Christmas and New Year’s paid holidays.  They agreed to officially close the BOE office from Wednesday, December 24, 2025 through Friday, January 2, 2026.

Certification - Following the processing of the approved 4 day and provisional ballots, staff provided the board with the Official Summary Results Report for the November 4, 2025 General Election, which the board voted 4-0 to approve. Necessary board signatures were obtained on the certification documents, which will be sent to the Ohio Secretary of State for final approval.

The board noted that 33.09% of Geauga’s registered voters cast ballots.  No statewide turnout statistics are currently available.

Automatic Recounts - Due to close results, automatic recounts are required for the Kenston School District Board of Education race and the Bainbridge Township Trustee race.  The Bainbridge F precinct was selected for the recount and meets the Ohio Secretary of State requirements for both races. Observer Note: See pages 2-20 of Chapter 11, Post Election Activities from the Ohio Secretary of State Official Election Manual for more information.

Mrs. Lane indicated 5 bipartisan teams will be assembled for the recount.  The board voted 4-0 to conduct the recounts in the board offices on November 17, 2025 at 9:00 am.

Post Election Audit Scheduling – Observer Note: See pages 21-26 of Chapter 11, Post Election Activities from the Ohio Secretary of State Official Election Manual for more information.

Using the 5% of total ballots cast audit formula, the board determined it is required to review at least 1,107 ballots for 3 races.  The board opted to review the Job and Family Services county wide levy, the Kenston School Board race and the Bainbridge Township Trustee race.

Recount results may be applied toward audit requirements.  As such, Bainbridge F was selected for inclusion in the post election audit.  Additional precincts were then randomly selected until the ballot count exceeded 1,107.  For the audit, five bipartisan teams will examine ballots from:

• Bainbridge Township F - 314 ballots | 314 total

• Hambden Township D - 247 ballots | 561 total

• South Russell Village C - 305 ballots | 866 total

• South Russell Village A - 294 ballots | 1,160 total

Ballots will be collected from these 4 precincts and kept separate as they are counted by hand and then by machine. The board voted 4-0 to conduct the post election audit on Monday, December 1 at 9:00 am.

Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 12:07 p.m.

Next Meetings - Post election meetings include:

• November 17 at 9:00 am - Recounts for Kenston School Board and Bainbridge Township Trustee

• December 1 at 9:00 am - Post election audit

The December 18, 2025 regular meeting is canceled.

Approved Minutes - Posted on the BOE website.

Observers: Shelly Lewis

Editor: Rooney Moy

Reviewer: Sarah McGlone

Date Submitted: 11/12/2025 

The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.