Local school boards in the spotlight as area voters go to the polls

Fresh from the polls Ron and Marilyn Peacock, both 62, walked out of the Wayne County Fair Event Center to discuss the election.

For residents of Wooster City, it’s an annual tradition.

“We vote every year because why shouldn’t we? »Said Marilyn Peacock.

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While they couldn’t point out a big deal that made them vote this year, they wanted to see new faces on Wooster City Council and Wooster Town Schools Education Council.

In short, they did not vote for any outgoing candidate.

“We didn’t really like how things were in the city,” she said. “Things weren’t bad, but they weren’t as good as we wanted them to be.”

They were part of a steady stream of voters from four ridings in Wooster and Franklin Township who voted at the Event Center on November 2.

As this is an election-free year that lacks major national races such as a presidential candidacy, voter turnout in Wayne and Holmes counties has been slow but steady, while voters in Ashland County have fallen. presented in greater numbers than expected.

‘Decent turnout’ in Ashland County

The Ashland County Electoral Council had expected turnout to decline in the 2021 general election, but turnout “appears to be decent” Tuesday afternoon, Deputy Director Amanda Jones said.

“[We’re] appearing to have good numbers, ”Jones said, noting that she heard 300 people voted at the Ashland Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps community center at 11 a.m.

The office had 108 election officers scattered across the county covering the 19 polling stations, Jones said.

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As for the 250 election officers at 43 Wayne County polling stations, they report a constant flow of voters without long lines, said Julie Stahl, director of the Wayne County Electoral Board.

“We don’t have a direct line to report the number of voters, but from what I’ve heard from our polling officers, it’s stable,” she said.

A technical glitch was reported at 3:30 p.m. A congressional county electrical survey book malfunctioned, forcing staff to rely on a physical version instead, she said.

Poll books are used by election officials to review and maintain voter registration information. It is not used for counting ballots.

Cold fall weather isn’t bad for voting on election day

Despite the brisk breeze, voters from Wooster and Franklin Township made their way to the Wayne County Fair Event Center to vote.

For some, it was just another election.

“I’m just here to do my civic duty,” said Jen Temple, 44, a resident of Wooster Township.

While mask mandates and critical race theory played little or no part in the Temple vote, others came out for these exact reasons.

“I paid attention to the Triway school board,” said Elizabeth Fink, a voter for Wooster Township.

For her, the pandemic was not as important as what is taught in schools.

“Now you have to be careful who gets into these school boards because there is indoctrination instead of education,” Fink said.

Visit The-Daily-Record.com and Times-Gazette.com online for full election results. You can find the full results in the Thursday print editions.

Contact Bryce by email at [email protected]

On Twitter: @Bryce_Buyakie