LISBON — The official canvass of the Nov. 5 general election next week will include 588 provisional ballots the Columbiana County Board of Elections accepted as eligible to be counted during a meeting Friday.

That’s a 74 percent acceptance rate, according to county Board of Elections Director Kim Fusco.

A provisional ballot is a ballot set aside due to questions about whether the voter is registered to vote or may have changed their address or failed to produce identification when the ballot was cast. Election board staff members have 10 days after the election to check the eligibility of those voters to determine whether their ballot will count or be rejected.

Out of 795 provisional ballots presented, the board rejected 207 ballots for various reasons which made them ineligible to be counted. Out of the 207 voters whose ballots were rejected, there were 139 not registered to vote, 29 who had no identification and didn’t come to the board to produce the ID after the election, one had already voted in the office and then tried to cast a ballot at the polls, 36 were in the wrong precinct and two were Safe At Home voters who tried to vote in person at the board office the Monday before the election. A Safe At Home voter is someone who’s address is kept confidential, such as a domestic violence victim. Early voting had already ended the Sunday before the election.

Board member Larry Bowersock asked about the 36 voters who were in the wrong precinct and whose fault that would be. Both Fusco and Administrative Assistant Niki Wilkinson said that would be the voter’s fault for going to the wrong precinct. Their name would not appear in the poll book, giving them an indication that they were in the wrong place. Both Fusco and Wilkinson said they would have been told to go to the right precinct by poll workers.

The board also rejected 49 absentee ballots, with 26 received either too late, with no postmark or a late postmark, seven had no ID envelope completed, 14 were undeliverable, meaning they came back to the board office and two were refused and sent back to the office due to the voter being deceased.

According to Wilkinson, election personnel made every attempt to get correct addresses for the ones deemed undeliverable.

The official canvass will begin Tuesday morning, with the board scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to certify the official results of the Nov. 5 general election.

In other business, board members indicated they had no problem with the office closing the day before Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving, along with Thanksgiving Day. Fusco noted that staff members worked on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, so this will be a trade-off for those days. The office on Dickey Drive, Lisbon will be closed Nov. 27, 28 and 29.

mgreier@mojonews.com