And then there were eight.

Charles Keilman has added his name to those seeking a seat on Maysville City Commission as a write-in candidate in the General Election on Nov. 6.

He joins Andrew Wood, Bob Hendrickson, David Doyle, Robbie Detro, Ann Brammer, Kathryn Gilligan and Barry Shrout who have declared their candidacy for one of four seats on the panel.

There are now only three eligible candidates named on the ballot for the four available spots on commission, meaning at least one write-in candidate will take a seat on the panel, although there is no guarantee having their names on the ballot will ensure election, Mason County Clerk Stephanie Schumacher said Friday. The top four vote-getters, no matter whether ballot or write-in, will win seats on the commission, she said.

Current commissioners Victor McKay and Kelly Ashley have filed for reelection and Jeff Brammer, who was named last month to fill the late Jerry Schumacher’s seat until January, filed earlier and will appear on the ballot.

Commissioner Judy Pfeffer did not file for reelection.

Others interested in seeking office as a write-in candidate have until Oct. 26 to file a declaration of intent with the county clerk.

With so many write-in candidates, the County Board of Elections moved earlier this week to delay counting write-in votes until Wednesday, Nov. 7, Stephanie Schumacher said.

After ballots have been tallied for all other races, the board will quit for the evening and reconvene Wednesday morning to count the write-ins, she said.

Experience with a Mason County Board of Education race several years ago influenced the board’s decision, she said, after ballot counts from that race were still underway into the early morning hours of the following day.

Members of the board include Democrat Kirk Clarke, Republican Elizabeth Andrews, Tim Nolder who is serving as sheriff and Stephanie Schumacher.

“We’ll come in and be here until we get them done on Wednesday,” Stephanie Schumacher said. “It’s going to take some time. I think we’ll be OK. The process just takes longer.”

The three candidates whose names will appear on the ballots will have vote totals on Tuesday, she said, but without totals from all candidates, winners will remain unknown until the final tallies on Wednesday, she said.

Mason County has two types of voting machines, the county clerk said. They are E-Scan, which uses paper ballots and E-Slate, which is computer operated. To cast a write-in ballot on the E-Scan, voters will be required to both fill in the write-in box and to write in the candidate’s name. On the E-Slate machine, voters will be required to turn the wheel to write-in and a keyboard will then appear to type in the candidate’s name or names.

Only last names are required and minor misspellings will be ignored and the vote counted as long as voter intend can be determined, Stephanie Schumacher said.

Poll workers will be available to assist voters or to answer questions, she said, and sample ballots are available at the clerk’s office for voters who want to have a look before walking into the voting booth. Voters are also welcome to call her office with questions, she said.

https://maysville-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_ivoted-1.jpg

Mary Ann Kearns

[email protected]