(The Center Square) – Ohio’s May primary election, which featured only one statewide question, went off almost perfectly, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
LaRose said all 88 Ohio counties recently completed the mandated audit that showed a 99.99% voting accuracy rate in both the primary and special election.
“We don’t just ask Ohioans to trust the process, we trust but verify,” LaRose said. “Public confidence in our elections starts with showing and then double-checking our work. I’m proud of the bipartisan team of election officials across the state that proves time and again why Ohio is the national gold standard for election administration.”
The May primary, which in 2026 will include key gubernatorial, congressional and other statewide races, only included Issue 2 available to every voter.
Easily approved, Issue 2, or the State Capital Improvement Program, continued spending taxpayer dollars to provide loans and grants to local governments for projects involving roads and bridges, freshwater treatment and distribution systems, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, storm sewer systems and solid waste disposal facilities.
The program was created in 1987 and renewed in 1995, 2005 and 2014 by voters with bipartisan support.
Throughout the state, however, 497 questions appeared on local ballots, ranging from new school tax levies to education renewals, fire district tax questions and others.
The post-election audit is a comprehensive look at results to verify accuracy.
Before an election, county boards of elections must conduct a wide range of logic and accuracy testing on all voting equipment. After each election, a bipartisan team of Republicans and Democrats from county boards of elections compares the tabulated results to the hard-copy paper ballots. Unlike other states, Ohio’s county boards are required to audit election results after every election.
A year ago, the Legislature made post-election audits law.
