Wyandot County voters are waiting for the official canvass to make the Nov. 3 election final, even as Ohio’s statewide unofficial results point to a Democratic sweep of the top races. According to the Ohio Secretary of State, Ohio voters elected Democrats Amy Acton and David Pepper as Governor and Lt. Governor and Sherrod Brown to the U.S. Senate, and passed State Issue 3, the photo ID amendment. Those are the statewide unofficial outcomes — Wyandot County’s unofficial county totals are not yet posted by the Wyandot County Board of Elections, and all results remain unofficial until certification.
The Secretary of State’s live-results portal states results are unofficial until the Secretary of State certifies them, with the official canvass completed about three weeks after the election. In its Nov. 3 release, “Secretary LaRose Outlines What Happens After the Polls Close,” the Secretary of State’s office said unofficial results are reported on election night, and the Secretary may release results only twice — on election night and after the official canvass.
In Wyandot County, the Board of Elections at 350 N. Warpole St. in Upper Sandusky handles the work. Director is Darcy A. Zimmerman, Deputy Director is Shelly R. Slavey, and the board is chaired by Mark A. Stock, according to the Wyandot County Board of Elections. The county reported election-night results on the “bottom of the hour” schedule under Secretary of State Directive 2026-48.
Wyandot’s ballot was a full one. The Board of Elections sample ballot included all eight statewide races, Congress in the 5th District between Bob Latta and Shaver, State Representative in the 87th District, a four-way County Commissioner race among Russell L. Smith, Jon Hathaway, Jason S. Yeater, and Kenneth Beamer, and County Auditor George Kitzler. Local questions varied by precinct and included a 0.5% sales-tax continuation for the Sheriff’s Department and EMS, a Wynford schools income tax, a four-county mental-health renewal levy, and electric aggregation.
Before the canvass, voters with ballot deficiencies get a chance to fix them. The cure period runs Wednesday, Nov. 4 through Saturday, Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., under Directive 2026-48. Absentee and provisional deficiencies must be cured by Saturday, Nov. 7, and eligible military and overseas ballots arriving by Nov. 7 will count.
The official canvass window runs Sunday, Nov. 8 through Wednesday, Nov. 18, under Directive 2026-48, with a certification deadline of Tuesday, Nov. 24, and reports due to the Secretary of State the same day. Recount applications are due five days after certification.
What happens next is procedural but consequential: the Board of Elections completes the cure period, conducts the official canvass, and certifies results by Nov. 24 for reporting to the Secretary of State. Until certification, Wyandot’s winners — from commissioner and auditor to the local tax and school questions — remain unofficial, and residents should rely only on the Board of Elections and the Secretary of State for final numbers.