UNION COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
(1891-PRESENT)
In 1891, the Ohio General Assembly created the county board of elections and gave it the authority to supervise and conduct elections. The board originally consisted of four qualified voters in the county appointed by the probate judge. Two members were appointed for one year while the remaining two members served two year terms. The secretary of state, acting in his capacity as chief election official, was given the authority to appoint members to the board in 1929. Currently, on the first day of March in even numbered years, he appoints two members to a four year term, one each from the political parties which case the highest and the next highest number of votes for the office of governor in the preceding election. Board members, throughout their term, are subject to summary removal by the secretary of state for neglect of duty, misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance.
Within five days after the secretary of state has made these appointments, the board is required to organize by selecting a chairman and a resident elector as clerk. The clerk of the board is responsible for keeping a record of the board’s proceedings and any other records pertaining to registration, primaries, and elections. The first members of the Union County Board of Elections were appointed in 1891.
Union County Board of Elections
| James B. Whelpley | Republican | (1891-1892) | Eugene E. Rausch | Democrat | (1936-1943) |
| John H. Kinkade | Democrat | (1891-1905) | Frank T. Gaumer | Democrat | (1938-1943) |
| George F. Bennet | Democrat | (1891-1898) | C.L. Thompson | Republican | (1934-1942) |
| Marion Hopkins | Republican | (1891-1911) | Clinton M. Croy | Republican | (1942-1954) |
| John E. Griffith | Republican | (1892-1895) | Winfield E. Behrens | Democrat | (1946-1953) |
| Lewis G. English | Republican | (1895-1896) | Milton L. Rausch | Democrat | (1943-1948) |
| Allen E. Plate | Republican | (1896-1906) | Frank T. Gaumer | Democrat | (1944-1946) |
| A.J. Hare | Democrat | (1898-1900) | Winfield E. Behrens | Democrat | (1946-1953) |
| Arna E. Mitchell | Democrat | (1900-1904) | Eugene E. Rausch | Democrat | (1948-1978) |
| F.A. Thompson | Democrat | (1904-1908) | John H. DeVoss | Republican | (1952-1964) |
| W.R. Weidman | Democrat | (1905-1911) | William L. Coleman | Democrat | (1953-1966) |
| Charles S. Hamilton | Republican | (1906-1910) | J.K. McLauglin | Republican | (1954-1962) |
| Homer Southard | Democrat | (1908-1912) | Gerald L. Kingsmore | Republican | (1962-1978) |
| J.M. Lentz | Republican | (1910-1917) | John Cheney | Republican | (1964-1967) |
| C.W. Hoopes | Republican | (1908-1916) | William G. McCarthy | Democrat | (1966-1968) |
| E.C. Cody | Democrat | (1911-1916) | William L. Coleman | Democrat | (1969-1981) |
| W.P. O'Brien | Democrat | (1912-1913) | Ralph F.E. Nicol | Republican | (1967-1987) |
| William J. Conrad | Democrat | (1913-1914) | John R. Bell | Republican | (1978-1979) |
| F.W. Galloway | Republican | (1916-1920) | Rex Rounds | Democrat | (1978-1984) |
| L.P. Rupright | Democrat | (1916-1920) | Walter Herd | Republican | (1979-1986) |
| Monroe Amrine | Democrat | (1914-1919) | Luther L. Liggett | Democrat | (1981-1985) |
| Walter M. Otte | Republican | (1917-1921) | Madonna Speyer | Democrat | (1984-1992) |
| M.T. Cody | Democrat | (1919-1925) | Thomas L. Kruse | Democrat | (1985-1987) |
| A.G. Kirby | Republican | (1920-1924) | Walter M. Burns | Republican | (1986-1989) |
| W.J. Rausch | Democrat | (1920-1924) | Gary J. Lee | Republican | (1987-2002) |
| G. Casper Scheiderer | Republican | (1921-1924) | Stephen G. Coleman | Democrat | (1987-1997) |
| Edward H. Hatton | Republican | (1924-1928) | Robert W. Parrott | Republican | (1989-2021) |
| H.W. Skidmore | Republican | (1924-1925) | David R. Moots | Democrat | (1992-2014) |
| Louis P. Rausch | Democrat | (1924-1928) | Thomas L. Kruse | Democrat | (1997-1999) |
| W.B. Stewart | Democrat | (1925-1927) | Jack C. Foust | Democrat | (1999-2009) |
| L.O. Mapes | Republican | (1925-1926) | Max E. Robinson | Republican | (2002-2008) |
| Alvi Graham | Republican | (1926-1927) | Dean E. Cook | Republican | (2008-Present) |
| Luther Liggett | Democrat | (1927-1936) | William C. Steele | Democrat | (2010-Present) |
| Charles E. Moran | Republican | (1927-1932) | Teri Lemaster | Democrat | (2014-2018) |
| O.L. Bonham | Republican | (1928-1934) | Rebecca R. Pokorski | Democrat | (2018-2023) |
| James Mackan | Democrat | (1928-1938) | Gary J. Lee | Republican | (2021-2023) |
| O.D. Dillon | Republican | (1932-1936) | Barbara A. Luke | Democrat | (2023-Present) |
| T.B. Collinson | Republican | (1936-1940) | |||
| Paris Outland | Republican | (1940-1952) |
The responsibilities and duties of the board of elections include receiving and canvassing voting returns, certifying an abstract to the secretary of state, and issuing certificates of election. The board also is empowered by general statute to establish and define election precincts, fix places of registration, review and certify the validity of petitions and nominating papers, maintain poll books and tally sheets, and investigate all irregularities in elections.
RECORDS OF THE UNION COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
| Absentee Voter Register | (1944-1996) |
| Appointment and Payroll Records | (1958-1987) |
| Board of Elections Minutes | (1915-2013) |
| Campaign Expense Reports | (1956-1980) |
| Receipts for Filing of Nominating Petition | (1916-1963) |
| Record of Bond Issues and Tax Levies | (1974-1988) |
