NAPOLEON — Early voting is under way in Henry County, where voters are deciding a Nov. 3 general election ballot topped locally by a new levy for developmental disabilities services and a renewal for the county health department. The Henry County Board of Elections office on Oakwood Avenue in Napoleon is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The biggest local question asks voters to approve a new 2.5-mill levy for the Henry County Board of Developmental Disabilities, whose services reach more than 400 eligible county residents and their families, according to the board. The levy would run five years and cost about $88 a year for each $100,000 of a home’s value. The board says its existing levies date to 1982, 2000 and 2006 and no longer keep pace with the cost of services, and that local levy dollars provide the required local match that draws down state and federal Medicaid funding for waiver services.
The second countywide question is a renewal of the levy that funds the Henry County Health Department, which county commissioners voted in March to send back to voters. A renewal continues the existing tax at its current effective rate rather than creating a new one, and the health department levy underpins the department’s public health programs across the county, from immunizations and inspections to nursing services.
County races, by contrast, offer voters few choices this cycle. Republican Joel Miller is the candidate for the county commissioner seat commencing Jan. 1 after running unopposed in the May Republican primary, and the official primary results show no valid Democratic petition was filed for commissioner. Republican Elizabeth A. Fruchey likewise ran unopposed in her primary for county auditor, with no Democratic candidate filing for that office either.
Also on county ballots are the offices of clerk of courts and a judge of the Court of Common Pleas’ domestic relations division, along with a Third District Court of Appeals judgeship for which Republican Mark C. Miller ran in the primary. Township, village and school questions vary by precinct — Napoleon-area voters can confirm exactly what is on their ballot through the board of elections’ voter view lookup before they head to vote.
Above the local races, Henry County voters will also help decide Ohio’s statewide contests — governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer, two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court, the U.S. Senate race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, and statewide Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification in order to vote — plus their congressional and Ohio Senate and House district races.
Early voting hours expand in the final week: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28 to 30, with weekend hours on Saturday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a final Sunday session on Nov. 1 from 1 to 5 p.m. Voters must bring an accepted photo ID, such as an Ohio driver’s license, a state ID card or a U.S. passport. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls across Henry County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.