Judges sit in on Lucas County Board of Elections meeting

Two judges sat in on the Lucas County Board of Elections special meeting today and witnessed a little of the acrimony that has made the board a target of disciplinary action by the Ohio Secretary of State.

Retired judges Peter Handwork, a Republican, and Charles Wittenberg, a Democrat, were appointed Tuesday by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to oversee the board while it finishes counting the vote from the May 6 election.

“They functioned fine. There’s obvious dissension,” Judge Handwork said.

Judge Wittenberg said a problem he saw was that the board approved minutes from October, 2013, to March of this year.

“I’m not too sure how something like that could happen,” Judge Wittenberg said, saying that it would be difficult to expect board members to remember and correct minutes that old.

“They seemed to be taking seriously the election and getting the vote certified,” Mr. Wittenberg said.

Though mostly on its best behavior, the board voted 3-1 on two issues with Republican board member Jon Stainbrook in opposition. 

The board voted unanimously to validate provisional ballot envelopes from the May 6 election, to certify Toledo Councilman Jack Ford as an independent candidate for state Senate District 11 in the Nov. 4 election, and to approve old board minutes.