COLUMBUS, Ohio – The only issue on the ballot in Franklin County’s special election on Tuesday went down to defeat when voters in Minerva rejected a doubling of the village’s income tax.
The request, to increase the village’s income tax from 1 to 2 percent to pay for general services was voted down by a 12-vote margin, not close enough to trigger a mandatory recount, according to Franklin County Board of Elections spokesman Ben Piscitelli.
Piscitelli says the threshold for a mandatory recount in Ohio is a half-percent or less.
Unofficial results show 178 votes, or 52 percent, against the increase and 166 votes, or 48 percent, in favor.
Less than 34 percent of the village’s 1,023 went to the polls, Piscitelli said.
Piscitelli says the board will certify the results before Feb. 18.