Back in December, a year of hard work for the Lawrence County Board of Elections was recognized by the State of Ohio.

They were named as Board of the Year by the secretary of state’s office, the first such board of election to receive that distinction.

And considering all they pulled off (and quite successfully), it is no surprise they would be considered for such an award.

First, the board had to move their operations, going from an office at the Lawrence County Courthouse to new location, on South Third Street, which opened in September.

On top of that, they had to conduct the regularly scheduled elections for the state, followed by a special election in August regarding a ballot issue and constitutional amendment. 

And, as no candidate secured the threshold for victory in the Ironton mayoral election in November, the board then had to carry out a runoff election in that race just two weeks later.

In that case, there was little time to notify the voters of the rules, which had voters going in person to one polling place, the board office itself.

While there were some expressed frustrations from voters about this, it is what the Ironton charter calls for and the board carried out the election to those specifications with no issue.

So it was a pretty demanding year in this county for elections officials, but thanks to preparation, a wealth of knowledge by officials and workers and dedication to their job, things went smoothly in Lawrence County.

We congratulate the board, who were visited on Thursday by Sec. of State Frank LaRose, and know that this year’s elections (a busy slate in a presidential year) will be overseen by the best.