GALLIPOLIS — The Gallia County Board of Elections completed their official canvass of ballots from the November 6 general election on Monday and have released their official election results.

Local boards of election throughout Ohio have until November 27 to complete their canvass of general election ballots — 21 days after the general election — according to the 2012 Ohio Election Calendar.

In Gallia County, the preliminary election results released on the night of the election will stand.

In two tight county commission races, the official results indicate that newcomer “Coach” Brent Saunders (R) and former commissioner David K. Smith (R) will unseat incumbents Joe Foster (D) and Lois Snyder (D).

According to official results, Foster netted a total of 5,964 votes or 48.63 percent of the votes on election day, while Saunders picked up 6,300 votes or 51.37 percent of the total votes cast in that race.

A total of 11,976 votes were cast in the race between Smith and Snyder and officials results indicate that Smith received 54.89 percent of those votes cast, while Snyder picked up 45.11 percent.

In a three-way race for county treasurer, incumbent Steve McGhee (R) received a total of 5,242 votes while his opponents Pam Riley (D) and Gary Jarvis (I) picked up 4,080 votes and 2,970 votes, respectively.

In the race for Gallia County Clerk of Courts, incumbent and Republican Noreen Saunders will maintain her seat as the clerk of courts.

The official results indicate that Saunders netted 7,645 of the total votes in that race, while challenger Belinda Burnett (D) garnered a total of 4,638 votes.

Several local office holders ran unopposed in this election season, and each picked up additional votes in the official canvass.

Gallia County Prosecutor Jeff Adkins (D) netted 8,620 votes, Sheriff Joe Browning (D) received 9,606 votes, Recorder Roger Walker (R) garnered 8,627 votes, County Engineer Brett Boothe received 9,177 votes and Gallia County Coroner Dr. Dan Whiteley picked up 9,507 votes during the November 6 election.

In the Village of Rio Grande, the half of percent income tax increase that will go to support the Rio Grande Police Department and Rio Grande Volunteer Fire Department passed by a narrow margin on election day.

Unofficial results released on the night of the election indicated that the issue had passed by a narrow 95 to 92 vote margin.

Following the official canvass, an additional seven votes were counted in favor of the income tax increase and a total of three votes were counted against it.

Voters in Gallia were in support of the only county-wide issue on this year’s ballot, a levy in support of the Gallia County General Health District, and official results indicate that an additional 135 votes in favor of the issue were cast. An additional 111 votes were cast against the issue for a total of 7,213 cast in favor of the health department levy and 4,936 were against it.

Gallia County voters were also in support of the several local fire levy that appeared on the ballot in various precincts throughout the county on November 6.

The District 2, Raccoon Township and Springfield Township fire levies all passed by considerable margins on election day.

A total of 69.01 percent of voters in Ohio and Guyan Townships were in favor of the District 2 fire levy, while 30.99 percent were against it. In Raccoon Township 73.04 percent of voters cast their ballot in favor of the issue, while 26.96 percent were against it. The Springfield Township fire levy also received considerable support as 69.95 percent of voters were in favor of that issue, while only 30.05 percent were not.

Several local issues related to the sale of alcohol in various precincts also came before voters on election day.

In Green Township, precinct one, residents voted down a local option that would have allowed the Sunday sale of wine and mixed beverages at the carry out/grocery store located at 3749 Jackson Pike. According to official results, 227 votes were cast against the issue and 178 were cast in favor of it.

In the sixth precinct in Green Township, voters narrowly defeated an option to allow the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages at the Par Mar store located at 2943 Ohio 141. A total of 185 votes were cast in favor of the issue, and 200 were cast against it.

Unofficial results posted immediately after the election by the board of elections indicated a tie in relation to the option that would allow Sunday beer sales between 10 a.m. and midnight each Sunday at the Par Mar store. The option, if passed, would have only been in effect if the liquor permits for the convenience store had been approved by voters on Tuesday. However, official results indicate that the measure failed with a vote of 229 against to 155 for the issue.

In Huntington precinct, voters approved one local option and denied another related to the sale of alcohol at the Par Mar store located on Ohio 160 in Vinton.

According to the official results, a total of 176 ballots were cast in favor of allowing the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages at the convenience store. A total of 129 ballots were cast against the option.

In contrast, the option to allow Sunday beer sales at the store between the hours of 10 a.m and midnight was denied by voters in Vinton, with 159 voting against and 148 voting in favor of the option.

In addition to the passage of their income tax increase, voters in Rio Grande Village also approved an option that will allow the sale of beer at Winston’s Brew Thru and Deli located at 100 Ohio 325 South.

The option passed by a margin of 141 votes to 62.

In the precinct five in the City of Gallipolis, several issues related to the sale and consumption of alcohol within the precinct were on the ballot.

Six liquor options in the city’s fifth precinct passed, while three failed by small margins. The failed options are related to the sale of beer for off-premises consumption.

For a complete list of election results in Gallia County visit the Gallia County Board of Elections website at www.gallianet.net.