T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Belmont County Board of Elections Director Aaron Moore, standing, reviews candidate petitions Thursday with board members Frankie Carnes, facing away, and Lois Doneson.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Board of Elections selected a different bid Thursday for printing ballots for the upcoming May 3 primary election.

At the beginning of the month, the board had selected a bid from Graphic Village to print ballots. On Thursday, however, Election Director Aaron Moore reported the company could not meet the county’s needs.

“They were unable to get the paper weights that we needed our ballots to be printed on,” Moore said. “We had to go with another printer.”

Graphic Village had bid for the primary election at a cost of $250 per 1,000 ballots, for a grand total of $18,750 based on an estimated 75,000 ballots.

The board decided to instead go with Election IQ, which bid $265 per 1,000 ballots.

Integrated Voting Systems bid $240 per 1,000 ballots. Board member Michael Shaheen said there have been some past problems with communications with IVS.

“And the difference was so nominal price-wise, they thought it worth it to them to use the other company,” Shaheen said.

In other matters, the board approved petitions for all the candidates for a Belmont County commission seat and the auditor’s seat.

Incumbent Commissioner Jerry Echemann of Martins Ferry filed for the Republican nomination to defend his seat. Vince Gianangeli of Colerain also filed a petition to run for the commission seat as a Republican candidate.

Jack Regis Sr. of Martins Ferry filed in the same race as a Democrat.

Incumbent Auditor Cindi Henry filed for re-election on the Republican ticket and is seeking a second term.

Jessa Lepic is contesting her in the race. She is on the Democrat ticket.

While the candidates had sufficient petitions to be on the ballot, a petition from the Glencoe American Legion to sell liquor on Sundays failed with 98 signatures gathered and approved when 102 signatures were needed.

“All the county candidates got approved, but we are filing for the state central committee. Until their redistricting maps and information gets forwarded, we’re going to wait until March 8,” Moore said.

Assistant Director Kamrom Chervenak said March 8 is the deadline to certify central committee candidates.

“Feb. 18 is when the maps need to be (turned in) to the courts,” Moore said.

There have been rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court about whether newly drawn maps of the Ohio House and Senate districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered. This will decide whether 7,130 voters in Warren, Goshen, Somerset and Wayne Townships will belong to the 95th or 96th district.

Other races on the ballot include the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, two justices of the Ohio Supreme Court, governor, lieutenant governor, Ohio attorney general, Ohio auditor, Ohio secretary of state and Ohio treasurer. At the federal level, voters will choose a representative for the 6th Congressional District and a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Rob Portman, who is not seeking re-election.

Representatives will be chosen for the 95th and 96th Ohio House districts, with some uncertainty remaining about which district a couple of local townships will lie in. The redistricting process remains incomplete.

Also on the ballot will be a 7th District Court of Appeals judge, one Ohio Board of Education member and four Ohio Central Committee members – two men and two women.

Military and overseas absentee voting in the primary begins March 18. The deadline to register to vote is April 4, and early in-person voting begins April 5 – the same day absentee voting by mail starts. Polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on May 3, Election Day.