JEFFERSON — More political parties vying for votes means a bigger ballot in May, and that could translate into a bigger expense for the Ashtabula County Board of Elections.
To satisfy federal court rulings, boards are obliged to ensure enough ballots are available for every political party that has put a candidate up for election. For May 4, no fewer than seven parties are represented, Richard Hornstein, director, said at Wednesday’s meeting.
In addition to the usual Democrats, Republicans and nonpartisan candidates, voters this spring can pick someone from the Green, Libertarian, Socialist or Constitutional parties, Hornstein said. “We’ve never had so many,” he said.
Even though they may be considered minor parties, ballots reflecting their candidates must be available to voters, he said.
The question confronting the cash-strapped board: How many ballots should they pay to print? The board risks punitive action if it doesn’t have enough ballots to satisfy voters, Hornstein said.
“We’ve got to make sure there’s enough for everybody,” he said.
Tentatively, election officials plan to make available at least 25 ballots for each of the four minor parties in every county precinct. Overall, the board expects to prepare 60,000 ballots for the primary, mindful of some high-profile money issues that could generate plenty of interest.
“Who knows what the turnout is going to be?” Hornstein asked.
It’s better to be safe than sorry, board members agreed.
“We’ve got to be prepared,” said Carol Lovas.
At Wednesday’s meeting, board members approved a bid from Election Services and Software to print ballots for 26 cents apiece. The price was identical to a quote offered by Dayton Legal, the company the board hired to print ballots for the November 2009 election. Those ballots had some problems, prompting administrators to recommend ES&S;.
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