By Ashley McCarty
According to election officials, the 2020 Adams County General Election came to a close with another successful year.
The only two contested races, County Recorder, and County Coroner, were anything but nail-biters. From the time the first unofficial absentee voter report was presented at 8:05 p.m., the trend had already been set.
There were a total of 7,240 absentee votes this election, almost 42 percent of Adams County voters.
In the recorder race, incumbent Democrat Mark A. Tolle had garnered 3,487 votes; Republican Chris Moore with 3,551. In the coroner race, incumbent Republican Dr. David Parrett had 4,306 votes; Independent Dr. Robert Newman had 2,399.
By 8:33 p.m., six of 21 precincts were unofficially reported, now a total of 8,324 votes.
In the recorder race, Tolle now had 3,934 votes, Moore 4,144 votes. In the coroner race, Parrett now had 4,904 votes with Newman having 2,818.
The final results, with all 21 precincts, wouldn’t be released for an hour — though once the papers were printed, those final votes were the nail in the coffin for those who were trailing in the vote.
Moore won over Tolle with 6,462 votes to 5,192 to secure his position as the new County Recorder.
“I am so humbled by the trust placed in me by the people of Adams County. I am grateful for the many volunteers and supporters that helped me be successful. My family has stood by me every step of the way and that was an important part of my success. I would like to say [that] I will be the recorder for all Adams Countians and you can expect your precious documents to be handled with care,” said Moore.
The central theme for Moore’s campaign was new leadership, office modernization, and offering Veteran ID cards to local veterans that have served our nation.
“Over the coming weeks, I will review current office procedures and budgets and will start to execute a plan to make good on those promises when I take office in January. Finally, I want to thank Recorder Mark Tolle for his years of service to the people of Adams County. I’m looking forward to working with him over the coming weeks on a smooth transition. I wish Mr. Tolle all the best in future endeavors,” said Moore.
Parrett pledged victory over Newman with 7,418 votes to 3,827, succeeding in defending his title as County Coroner.
“I am so thankful to the voters for having the confidence in me, and I’m truly humbled by the overwhelming support that I received. There’s just so many people to thank with this whole process; from the people that allowed me to put out signs, the individuals who said a kind word on my behalf and talked with others, the Republican party who helped me out and the campaigning. I’m so thankful and willing to put the time and effort in to do the best job that I can for all of those who had confidence in me, because I know they expect me to do my best at the job, and I will do. I’m very honored to be able to serve Adams County in this manner, and just so pleased with the response,” said Parrett.
In the Ohio 2nd District Congressional race, incumbent Republican Brad Wenstrup won over Democrat Jaime M. Castle (in the county) with 9,558 votes to 2,091.
“Serving the people of southern and southwestern Ohio has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I’m humbled and filled with gratitude that they have chosen me to serve another term as their representative in Congress. I promise to continue working to defend the health and safety of all American in Congress. Our campaign was fueled by the unwavering belief that we, as a nation, must never abandon our God, our families, and our country. I thank everyone who joined our efforts to continue building upon the successes we’ve achieved for all Ohioans, especially my wife, children, and family, as well as the grassroots volunteers whose countless hours of effort made this campaign a success,” said Wenstrup.
Wenstrup applauded Castle for running a formidable campaign.
In the presidential race here in Adams County, Republican Donald J. Trump won over Democrat Joseph R. Biden with 9,660 votes to 2,130.
Board of Elections Director Stephanie Lewis reported that election night went smoothly.
“Our poll workers did an excellent job, all of our results come in very timely, all of our numbers matched. We couldn’t ask really for a better election, honestly, especially for this size,” said Lewis.
A larger-than-normal turnout was anticipated, though Lewis was particularly taken aback by the volume absentee voters.
“In 2016, we had just over 11,000 that cast ballots, so we figured there would be a little bit of an increase there, but we weren’t expecting as many absentee ballots as what we had. That was kind of more of a surprise. We’ve never had a turnout for in-person voting that large prior to the election. That was a little bit different for us,” said Lewis.
The large absentee voting turnout led to a smoother election day, however.
“It took a lot of that pressure off of our polling location people. They didn’t have to deal with as much of the paperwork, or as much as the questions, because they all came in here and we were able to process them on the spot, whereas if they would have went to polls they may have had additional paperwork and things to do. So, it did I think alleviate a lot of that stress that our poll workers had, and they had a busy day. It seemed like everybody we talked to at the locations, they were pretty steady all day long,” said Lewis.
It was a good election day, she said.
On Nov. 4, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose commented on the election.
“The old saying from my time in the military is ‘you sweat in peacetime so you don’t bleed in battle.’ Partning with the bipartisan county boards of elections, we sweated throughout the spring and summer to boost participation in early voting opportunities, make sure voters were safe, voting systems were secure, and enough poll workers trained and ready — and it worked. Ohio shattered the record and voters proved it’s easy to make your voice heard in the Buckeye State,” said LaRose.
