MOUNT VERNON — Even though the primary elections took place two weeks ago, some voters are still left with questions about the legality of what happened with crossover voters during the primary. Crossover voters are those who switch party affiliation on the day of the election.
Voters who wish to change their party affiliation on the day of the election are permitted to do so under Ohio law. However, a voter who had been affiliated with one particular party within the past two years, then wanted to change his or her party affiliation for the March 4 election, had to sign a form stating he or she was changing party allegiance.
The form is called a “Statement of Person Challenged as to Party Affiliation.” On the document the voter affirms that he or she would like “to be affiliated with and that [he or she] support[s] the principles” of the party in order to vote in the primary. These forms are also known as challenge forms.
Did you change your party affiliation for this primary election?
| Options | Percentage | Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes |
| 77 | |||
| No |
| 172 | Total Votes: 249 |
Rita Yarman, director of the Knox County Board of Elections, said voters are welcome to change their party affiliation at polling locations, but if this is done, the voter’s name will then be affiliated with the new political party. Independent voters were allowed to vote for either party’s primary on March 4 and were not required to fill out a challenge form.
Yarman said a lot of people wanted to “mix it up” and vote for a different party on March 4. The challenge forms had to be signed by at least two poll workers; the poll workers who sign the forms also have to be from both of the major political parties. The challenge forms feature bold lettering notifying voters that whoever commits election falsification is guilty of a felony.
If a voter changed his or her party affiliation at the polls but refused to sign the pledge, the ballot will be counted as provisional, giving the board of elections 10 days to investigate its accuracy. The exact number of crossover voters in Knox County is still not known by the board of elections, but the numbers will be released along with the official count on March 27.
However, Yarman said Knox County results, including provisional ballots, might not be known until perhaps April 4, the final day to have the complete results counted. With provisional ballots thrown into the mix, it is not known if there will be the need for an automatic recount in any of the local races. An automatic recount is triggered when the difference in the results is less than one-half of 1 percent.
