MOUNT VERNON — Forty-five percent of Knox County voters turned out Tuesday, casting their votes for a number of positions and a variety of levies.
According to unofficial results, the five-year, 2.75-mill MRDD levy passed by 286 votes.
“I’m so excited,” said Steve Oster, superintendent of MRDD. “I think people believe in the program, and they showed their support by passing us. It’s a great day for people with developmental disabilities. Partly because we’ll be able to serve families and individuals that are on our waiting list, and also we can continue some programs like early intervention and services that people need in the community.
“I want to thank the people who worked hard on the campaign — the people who did the yard signs and supported us and wrote letters, the people in the community who supported us for the MRDD levy. It’s a great victory; for 20 years of not asking for new money, it’s a great thing.
“I think for the people we serve, it’s going to be a wonderful thing for them and their families. And that’s what’s important, and that’s what the money is all about.”
According to officials at the Knox County Board of Elections, there are 263 provisional ballots yet to be counted; they will be counted within the next 10 days. There were 3,459 absentee ballots cast.
The weather played a role in what seemed to be an otherwise routine election day.
An enterprising Apple Valley election poll worker beat a power outage Tuesday afternoon by using his only small home generator. Presiding Judge George Dunham at Floral Valley Community Center sent his wife, also a precinct worker, home for his 1,000 watt generator. It powered a small light, and he also plugged it into three voting machines to conserve the backup batteries.
Voters were calling the center to ask if the polls were still open, according to poll worker Judy Faget. Poll workers were using flashlights to read the poll books, and so voters could see to sign the books. Through it all, the electronic voting machines were powered by backup batteries.
At the Apple Valley Club House, a bank of windows along the west side of the room where two voting polls were setup provided plenty of light. Voters Mark Booth and Rod Schlingerman said they had no problem with voting on the machines while they were on battery power.
Anticipating a long power outage, Apple Valley General Manager Jeff Harmer sent for generators for lights and to power the voting machines. They were in place just after 3 p.m. A steady stream of voters, more than in a usual primary election, according to the poll workers, were walking into the East Knox High School auditorium. Poll workers had three candles, a battery-powered electric lantern and a supply of flashlights.
According to American Electric Power, more than 8,000 residents were without power. Ice on the lines caused the power outage, according to AEP spokeswoman Vikki Michalski. Power was restored at 4:15 p.m.
According to Bill Moody of the Knox County Board of Elections, voting was continued in the areas affected by the outage. “The voting machines have a battery backup and seem to be working OK,” he said. “Plus, the precincts have paper ballots for roughly 10 percent of the voters.”
Flooding was also a concern in some areas. In nearby Holmes County, the polling station in Glenmont was forced to close due to flooding from a nearby creek. Local fire and EMS officials relocated the polling station a block away to the fire station, to avoid rising waters from Black Creek.
According to Lisa Welch, director of the Holmes County Board of Elections, the flooding resulted from the recent snow melt, rain and saturated ground.