Washington County Board of Elections board members Khadine Ritter and Robin Bozian and Director Mandy Amos review a handmarked provisional ballot during the ballot recount on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

There was one vote added to determine the final official winner of a second seat on the Muskingum Township Board of Trustees in the Nov. 4 general election.

Despite the additional vote, the outcome of the coin toss which determined the winner of the original tie didn’t change and Steven Rech remained the winner.

The election night results revealed a tie between Rech and Gary Doan. The canvass on Nov. 12 showed a continued tie with both men receiving exactly 489 votes.

Due to the less than 0.5% difference in votes, a recount was required by state law. The recount was conducted after the coin toss which had determined Rech as the winner of the second seat.

Wednesday’s recount by the board concluded in an unusual occurrence. Upon further review of the provisional ballots, there was one more vote counted for Rech.

Although it didn’t change the outcome because Rech had won the coin toss, the moment was unique because the outcome of yesterday’s recount matched the outcome of the coin toss.

“This is rare, occasionally it could happen but recounts don’t usually change anything,” said board member Jane Crumrine. “That one ballot makes a difference.”

Members on the board said because changes in results due to recounts were so rare is the reason why state code requires a coin toss before the recount.

Rech and Doan were both present for the recount and said the process was interesting.

Both men had previously commented saying they didn’t expect to see any changes in the results.

After reviewing the ballots, Board of Elections Director Mandy Amos discovered a handmarked ballot with checkmarks instead of the spaces for the responses being filled completely in. This particular marking style prevented the vote from being counted in the computer system.

“It did read some of the checkmarks,” said Amos. “We don’t have to remake the ballot, we can just go in and add that vote.”

The checkmarks also weren’t picked up for a few of the county levies, but the one additional vote wasn’t enough to change any of the results.

Amos said the deadline to submit petitions to be on the May 5, 2026, primary election is by 4 p.m. Feb. 4. Those who are looking to be on the ballot as an independent can submit by 4 p.m. May 4, the day before the election.

Voter registration must be completed by April 6 which is 30 days before election day.