The Lucas County Board of Elections threw out the provisional ballots of 463 voters today, including more than 300 people who attempted to vote though they were not registered in Ohio.

The board approved 1,791 provisional ballots in addition to invalidating 463. Provisional ballots are paper ballots that are placed in envelopes until the elections board can determine whether the voter was registered. The ballots will now be added to the count of the March 15 election.

Deputy Director LaVera Scott said the additional ballots could change the outcome of a few party central committee races, two of which ended in a tie and several more which were only a vote or two apart. Central committee races decide the representatives of each of the county’s 315 precincts on the Democratic, Republican, and Green Party central committees.

Ms. Scott said seven voters who were not registered in Ohio tried to vote at the Early Vote Center after being transported in a bus from a group home. She said they were elderly, including at least one decorated veteran, and wanted to vote even though their names did not show up in the county or state voter database.

“I don’t think any of them were malicious,” she said, in explaining why they would not be referred for prosecution.

In addition to the seven who were not registered who attempted to vote at the Early Vote Center, there were 456 who were allowed to cast provisional ballots at the precinct on election day but whose ballots were rejected for various reasons. The biggest reason was the voter not being registered in Ohio, followed by voting in the wrong precinct. Other reasons included that the voter had already voted, turned in an empty envelope, had mismatching identification, no birthdate, no identification, no signature, or lived outside Lucas County.

If a voter is registered in Ohio, he can vote as long as he votes in the precinct in which he or she resides. Board attorney Kevin Pituch said the provisional voter process is one way in which voter registration records are updated.

The board is scheduled to meet April 5 to add the the 1,791 provisional votes to the vote count and certify the results of the election.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.

First Published March 29, 2016, 5:48 p.m.