ADVERTISEMENT

    Board of Elections Reassigns Nearly 3,000 Voters Placed in Wrong Congressional District

    The complexity of congressional districts has led some voters to be placed in the wrong one, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections (FCBOE).

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Some 3,000 individuals have recently received a memo from the Board, alerting them that they were “inadvertently assigned to the wrong congressional district.”

    “Rest assured that votes you have cast in previous elections have always counted and the number of impacted voters was never enough to change the outcome of any election,” the memo reads.

    A map of Ohio’s congressional districts.

    Three congressional districts run through Franklin County, including the 3rd, 12th, and 15th. Their boundaries are random, jagged, and can cut through neighborhoods or even houses and apartment complexes themselves. That means someone could technically reside in a different district from their next door neighbor.

    Matters got more complicated this year, when it was discovered that the FCBOE’s maps didn’t align perfectly with the real boundaries. One voter called the Board when, after doing some quick research, she found that the congressional district she’d been assigned didn’t line up with where her house actually lay on the map.

    “That location was a high rise condominium complex, and we had it in the wrong district,” says Aaron Sellers, with the FCBOE. “The district they were supposed to be in was across the street, really close.”

    The mixup led to a full review of the county, which took several months. Using the County Auditor’s maps, the FCBOE identified nearly 3,000 voters who’d been assigned to the wrong congressional district.

    “There’s a minuscule percentage of a percentage [of people] that are right on the border. I mean, you go up High Street, from German Village to Clintonville, there are three different districts,” says Dave O’Neill, Director of Communications for the Franklin County Auditor’s office. “And it’s not like Philly, where everything is a checkerboard. There are some funky streets and things of that nature.”

    To resolve the issue, the majority (1,603 voters) were moved out of the 15th district, and 1,584 voters were moved into the 3rd district. Nearly 1,000 were moved out of the 3rd district, and about 200 were moved out of the 12th. Sellers says that those numbers aren’t big enough to have affected any races within that time frame.

    Graphic provided by the Board of Elections.

    “Certainly there’s human error to this,” he adds, “and we certainly weren’t excited to let the public know that there were some issues on our end, but what we wanted to do was be transparent about this. Obviously, we’re slightly embarrassed that we had 3,000 people in the wrong congressional district, but we’ve got everybody where they should be now.”

    For more information, visit vote.franklincountyohio.gov.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Wave of Ohio Zoomers Registering to Vote This November

    More than 48,600 18-year-olds are registered to vote in Ohio as of Jan. 6 — a 35% increase compared to late August, according to data analyzed by the Civics Center, a nonpartisan organization trying to increase voter registration.

    The Confluence Cast: News in the New Year

    As we ease into 2024, we’re taking a quick look back into some happenings that you may have missed as the year turned over. Columbus Underground co-founder and editor Walker Evans discusses a myriad of stories, including the latest in transportation, climate change, local politics, and a dash of comedy here in the capital city.

    Voting Rights Advocates Hit Another Stumbling Block in Ohio

    While most Ohioans were getting ready to ring in the new year, a coalition of voting rights advocates got some bad news. The attorney general rejected their proposal that would’ve enshrined several voting protections in the state constitution.

    Conservative Groups Want to Keep Ranked Choice Voting Out of Ohio

    A Senate committee heard from supporters last week of a measure effectively banning ranked choice voting in the state. The measure is bipartisan — proposed by Sens. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, and Bill DeMora, D-Columbus. But its public backers so far are mostly conservative and right-wing groups.

    The Confluence Cast: Year in Review

    As 2023 draws to a close and we stand on the brink of a new year filled with its own stories and surprises, it’s a time for reflection. In our latest podcast episode, we delve into a retrospective journey, revisiting the moments that defined the year for us. Join Walker Evans, Susan Post, and myself as we engage in a lively discussion about the most impactful, intriguing, and talked-about local stories that have unfolded over the past 365 days.
    Lauren Sega
    Lauren Segahttps://columbusunderground.com
    Lauren Sega is the former Associate Editor for Columbus Underground and a current freelance writer for CU. She covers political issues on the local and state levels, as well as local food and restaurant news. She grew up near Cleveland, graduated from Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism, and loves running, traveling and hiking.
    ADVERTISEMENT