Medina Township police levy to be recounted

MEDINA — A recount will begin for Medina Township's police levy next week since the margin between passing and failing is less than half of 1 percent. The Medina County Board of Elections certified the official results from the May 6 election during its board meeting Tuesday. According to official election results, 609 people voted for the levy while 605 people voted against it. The 2.5-mill continuous additional levy would raise around $1.36 million annually. Upon passage, funds would go to the department's operating expenses and allow Medina Township police to hire more officers. For the recount, the board of elections had to randomly select at least 5 percent of the ballots cast for the levy to be hand counted, which amounts to 62 ballots. The precinct that was randomly selected was Cornerstone Chapel. Board of Elections Deputy Director Heather McDermott said ballots will then be run through the tabulator to make sure the machine count matches the hand count. The manual count will end if it matches, she said. Then, all of the police levy ballots will run through the tabulator to recount everything again. If the hand count does not match the tabulation count for the precinct, the teams will hand count another precinct and repeat the same process, McDermott said. Also on Tuesday, the board selected the precincts to be audited for the May election. At least 5 percent of the total ballots cast for the county have to be audited, which is 932 ballots. Statewide Issue 2 will be audited along with the Cloverleaf Schools renewal levy and the Highland Schools additional levy. The audit certification must be completed by June 17. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.