YOUNGSTOWN — With not enough candidates on the ballot — or none in some cases — for open seats, people filed as write-ins for a number of those spots.

Monday was the deadline for write-in candidates to file for the Nov. 4 general election.

The Mahoning County Board of Elections on July 8 refused to certify two incumbent Campbell City Council members — Tim O’Bryan in the 1st Ward and Robert Stanko in the 4th Ward — because of problems with their petitions.

O’Bryan failed to date and sign one of his petitions so all the signatures were declared invalid, leaving him two short of the needed 25 valid signatures to qualify.

Stanko failed to sign and date his petitions before seeking signatures, which left the board with no other choice but to invalidate his candidacy.

Other candidates who filed nominating petitions for the Nov. 4 general election and weren’t certified by the board couldn’t refile as write-in candidates.

But Campbell is a unique case because O’Bryan and Stanko, who were running unopposed, were actually filing for a Sept. 23 runoff that is held under the city charter if more than two candidates file for the positions. The board of elections did not certify them for that runoff election, which won’t occur. But it allows them to file for the general, which is considered a separate election.

O’Bryan was the only write-in candidate for his ward seat. In addition to Stanko, the city’s 4th Ward council seat attracted two other write-in candidates: Patrick Gentile and Constantino Frangopoulos.

After two potential candidates for the Canfield school board weren’t certified after filing nominating petitions with not enough valid signatures, only two candidates will have their names on the ballot for three spots. Katie L. Elford and Bob Smallwood filed as a write-in for the school board.

With only two candidates certified for the Youngstown school board’s three open seats on the Nov. 4 ballot, Ted Brown filed as a write-in.

Removed as a school board candidate on Aug. 18 by the elections board because he previously filed to run as a Republican for Struthers City Council’s 3rd Ward seat, Patrick C. Bundy, a sitting Struthers school board member, filed as a write-in.

It will be up to the board of elections to decide if he should be certified, which is highly unlikely to occur.

Bundy was not certified Aug. 18 because state law doesn’t permit him to run for the two positions in the same election year, said board Director Tom McCabe.

There are three candidates running with their names on the Nov. 4 ballot for Struthers school board.

While incumbent Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, a Democrat, and independent Derrick McDowell will have their names appear on the ballot, Frank Bellamy and Cecil Monroe filed as write-in candidates for the seat.

When Bellamy’s name appeared on the 2013 ballot for mayor, he received 1.1% of the vote.

Monroe ran as a write-in in the 2013 mayoral election and received three votes. He ran as an independent in 2017, and got 61 votes, 0.54 of a percent of the total vote that year.

Also, with the names of Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, and independent Richard Yaslik on the ballot for Youngstown council president, Alex Rubino filed as a write-in candidate for the position.