Ohio election officials are making sure every vote counts and no illegal votes slip through.
The secretary of state said 75 people double-voted in Ohio and another state and could face consequences.
News Center 7′s Mike Campbell talked with Montgomery County election leaders and voters about the push for fairness and integrity.
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Election officials are not just stepping up enforcement of all elections regulations, but making sure voters know about it so they know their vote counts.
Early voters in Montgomery County both told News Center 7 they didn’t see any irregularities in the voting process, and they noticed plenty of board of election officials watching the process closely.
“I believe county, state and federal officials are doing their best job to make sure the vote is safe,” said Tom Beatty, an early voter.
Although, not every voter is playing by the rules.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced this week he is referring 75 voters for investigation and possible prosecution for voting twice, once in Ohio, once in another state.
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“Ohioans should know if you violate election law, we’ll catch you. Every vote matters,” LaRose said.
“The system is working, we are analyzing and catching any mistakes, we are catching it,” said Jeff Rezabek, Director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
They’ve only caught one person trying to vote in two states, but they do see other voting problems.
“If we find someone that voted early and then shows up on Election Day or sends in an absentee ballot,” Rezabek said.
Rezabek said many voters make this type of mistake accidentally. If they find any attempt at intentional fraud, they refer cases to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office or the Ohio Secretary of State.
The message all election officials have for voters is simple.
“Their vote counts, it matters, we are in protection mode, that we do this correctly,” Rezabek said.
Montgomery County began early voting a couple weeks ago, and they are averaging 500 people a day so far.
They’ve already received 38,000 requests for mail-in ballots. Both are running ahead of the comparable mid-term election in 2018.
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