Westlake Charter Amendments Likely To Pass: Election Results 2020

STRONGSVILLE, OH — With more than 95 percent of precinct scanners reporting, it appears all of Westlake's proposed charter amendments have passed, based on unofficial voting tallies from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

The amendments had a turbulent journey to ballots, with Mayor Dennis Clough vetoing six of the amendments, before city council overrode Clough's veto.

Here's how Tuesday's vote on the charter amendments broke down:

• Westlake Charter Amendment 56, amending the charter to have gender-neutral language
• Yes: 10,690
• No: 6,349
• Westlake Charter Amendment 57, clarifying the mayor's ability to appoint staff, except the director of law
  • Yes: 10,412
  • No: 5,898
• Westlake Charter Amendment 58, a run-off for mayor will be held if no candidate gets more than 40 percent of the vote
  • Yes: 10,967
  • No: 5,032
• Westlake Charter Amendment 59, regular council meetings will be set by council president
  • Yes: 11,237
  • No: 4,901
• Westlake Charter Amendment 60, allowing electronic notices for meetings
  • Yes: 15,091
  • No: 1,633
• Westlake Charter Amendment 61, adding the Department of Engineering, Department of Buildings, Structures and Inspections, and Department of Purchasing as departments established in the Charter
• Yes: 13,109
• No: 2,692
• Westlake Charter Amendment 62, merging the Board of Building Appeals into the Board of Zoning Appeals
• Yes: 11,258
• No: 4,011
• Westlake Charter Amendment 63, the director of law must have practiced law in Ohio for 6 continuous years
• Yes: 12,325
• No: 3,351
• Westlake Charter Amendment 64, renew the existing 0.9 mill tax levy for the purpose of providing funds to pay for the salaries and other expenses of the Police and Fire Departments
• Yes: 13,281
• No: 3,282
• Westlake Charter Amendment 65, reduce the number of petitions needed to run for elected office to 250 petitions
• Yes: 8,669
• No: 7,364
• Westlake Charter Amendment 66, increasing the size of the Charter Review Commission to 11 members rather than nine
  • Yes: 10,529
  • No: 5,119

"Basically council rejected his reasoning behind the vetoes," Westlake City Council President Michael Killeen told Patch after council decided to undo the vetoes.

Clough's objections to the proposed charter amendments boiled down to a few key complaints: that council's adopted amendments did not follow the Westlake Charter Review Committee's language, the amendments undid long-held city protocols or the amendments were politically-motivated and pushed by a single individual.

Check back here when polls close for links to our live updating results from election night.

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Election Day

Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 and closed at 7:30 p.m.

Many polling sites reported long lines at various points throughout the day, indicating voter turnout was still strong despite an unprecedented number of early votes.

Early Voting During COVID-19

With the pandemic threatening the lives and well-being of Ohioans, there was an unprecedented surge of early voting (both in-person and via absentee ballots).

Early voting for the upcoming general election began Oct. 6 in Ohio. Early in-person voting ended on Nov. 2, one day prior to the general election.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose said 3.4 million early votes were cast in Ohio, shattering all previous records in the state.

"Inspiring. There’s no other word for it,” LaRose said.

Election officials can begin scanning absentee ballots as they are received, but those votes are not tabulated until the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3.