With the May 3 primary just a little more than a month away, Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Board of Elections are normally well prepared. But this year, the Valley's board of elections are feeling the pressure from the back and forth battle over redrawing the state map congressional map boundaries.

After multiple attempts to redraw the congressional map lines by the Ohio Redistricting Commission, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive on March 23 for the Ohio Board of Elections to remove all candidates for the Statehouse, Senate, and State Central Committee races from the May primary ballots.

Will the congressional races be on the May 3 ballot? 

Yes, congressional races will be on the ballot. However, the Ohio Supreme won't decide whether the maps passed by Republicans on the Redistricting Commission in early March violate anti-gerrymandering rules, but the window for review extends into late May - several weeks after the primary is currently scheduled to take place.

Ohio Secretary of State's Frank LaRose office spokesman Rob Nichols said the congressional maps have been approved for the primary and voting on these races will go forward. In a written order on March 29, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, gave the parties approximately two months to present written arguments and evidence. The Ohio Supreme Court will take up the Ohio congressional lines issue again in late May. It will be up to the Supreme Court to decide the outcome of votes cast if the arguments and evidence were to change the congressional boundaries from the May 3 vote.

Will there be a second 'primary election' this year?

While only the General Assembly can mandate election dates, Secretary of State spokesman Nichols said the races left off the May 3 ballot will need to be part of a second primary election, with the date to be determined. Mahoning Co. Board of Elections Director Thomas McCabe said the date for the second primary can not be set until after the May 3 elections are finalized, which usually takes about a month. The earliest a special election would be able to take place would be by mid-July to early August Nichols said.

The second primary will contain State House races, Senate races, and Senate Central Committee races at this point. However, the Senate race will have no opposition, as the primary election determines which party's candidates for selected races will face off against the Democratic or Republican candidates on election day on Nov. 8.

The second primary election, which will not take place until late July or early August, will include the following:

Ohio House of Representatives District 58: Bruce Neff (D), and incumbent Alessandro Cutrona (R).

District 59: John Dyce (D), Lauren McNally (D), Wayne Penny Jr (D), Ronald Shadd (D).

District 64: Bria Bennett (D), Vince Peterson II (D); Nick Santucci (R)

District 05 (Columbiana): Incumbent Richard Brown (D); Ronald Beach IV (R)

The Ohio 6th Congressional District Democratic ballot will have Martin Alexander, Eric Jones, Lou Lyras and Shawna Roberts. Ohio Republican ballot will have incumbent Bill Johnson, John Anderson, Michael Morgenstern, and Gregory Zelenitz.

The Ohio State Senate race for the 33rd District will have Robert Hagan (D), and the Republican ballot will have the incumbent Michael Rulli (R). 

The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate will have Morgan Harper, Traci Johnson and Tim Ryan, while the Republican primary ballot will have Matt Dolan, Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel, Neil Patel, Mark Pukita, Jane Timken and J.D. Vance.

Nichols estimated that a second primary will cost the state an additional $20-to-$30 million.

Who will pay for the special election?

The State General Assembly determines the funding to help offset the election costs to the local Boards of Elections. For example, the State General Assembly allocated $85,000 for the May 3 Columbiana Primary Election. According to the Board of Elections Deputy Director Bryce Miner, the May primary will cost the county around $100,000. In Trumbull Co., the cost will be a minimum of $200,000 according to Trumbull Co. Board of Elections director Stephanie Penrose. 

McCabe said a special election will cost an estimated an additional $300,000 to $400,000 in Mahoning Co., which creates concern as most counties only budget for two elections per year. With an additional election, the county will have to appeal to the legislature for funding to cover the costs. McCabe noted that is not only the funding but the need to gather 848 poll workers needed to run an election in Mahoning Co.

When does early voting start?

Early voting is set to begin on April 5 in Ohio, and registered voters can vote at the Mahoning County Board of Elections at 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown; in Trumbull County, voters need to go to the Early Vote Center at 2911 Youngstown Rd SE in Warren and at the Columbiana County Board of Elections, 7989 Dickey Dr. Suite 3, in Lisbon.