Automatic election recounts confirm OH rep and judge win reelection
After two Franklin County races were close enough to trigger automatic vote recounts, the final, official totals confirm that Democratic state Rep. Richard Brown and Republican Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook are keeping their jobs.
There were razor-thin margins in both races and Ohio election law requires a recount if vote totals are within one-half of 1%.
The Franklin County Board of Elections announced the official results of the recounts, which changed vote totals little, on Monday.
Beginning Dec. 9, election officials hand-counted more than 20,000 ballots, more than the required 5% of ballots cast in each race, from randomly selected precincts. Between the two races, fewer than a dozen examined ballots were originally counted incorrectly, according to a presentation at the Franklin County Board of Elections meeting Monday.
The recount confirmed longtime Judge Holbrook narrowly fended off a challenge from Columbus Assistant City Attorney Zach Gwin. Holbrook won by 274 votes in a race with more than 360,000 ballots cast.
Brown, an attorney from Canal Winchester, also fended off a challenge to win reelection after unofficial results on election night initially indicated Republican Ronald Beach IV, of Obetz, had a slight lead in the race to represent the newly drawn Ohio House District 5 (formerly District 20), which includes all or parts of Canal Winchester, Groveport, Reynoldsburg, Obetz, Darbydale and Galloway.
But after absentee and provisional ballots were tallied, Brown was winning by 145 votes. And the recount confirms Brown won by 145 votes.
The recount found one ballot was counted for Brown when it should have counted for Beach and another ballot was counted for Beach when it should have counted for Brown.
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Brown is currently representing District 20, which includes western Franklin County, in the Ohio General Assembly, where he was reelected as assistant minority whip in 2020. The new District 5 includes much of former District 20, although it now covers a swath of southern Franklin County, including Galloway, Darbydale, Lockbourne, Obetz, parts of Canal Winchester and Reynoldsburg.
“I will continue to serve my constituents and all Ohioans with the utmost integrity and fairness they deserve,” Brown previously told The Dispatch. “I look forward to keeping that same commitment to service over the next two years that I have put forth in my district for my constituents over the last five years.”
With Brown’s win, Republicans will control the House 67-32.
Holbrook, who has been a judge since 2005, previously told The Dispatch he was nervous on election night.
“I’m happy,” Holbrook said. “I was nervous. I respect the voters in Franklin County. I’m happy that I was reelected. It was a good race. Zach’s a wonderful young man. He may make a great judge someday, but I’m glad that I was reelected.”
This is the last term Holbrook can run for before he ages out, since Ohio law says candidates cannot be over 70 years old when they’re sworn in.
Beyond Holbrook’s race, Democrats won five other contested races for seats on the county bench, expanding their majority to 15 out of the 17 judge seats in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
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