MARION — Early in-person voting is under way in Marion County ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election, and the top local question is a renewal levy for the Marion County Board of Developmental Disabilities — a five-year, 3.0-mill tax that agency officials stress is not a new tax, but a renewal of the levy voters first approved in 2020.
Because it is a renewal, the cost to homeowners would stay the same, about $67.08 a year for a home valued at $100,000. The board serves more than 1,000 Marion County residents, and it reports a 40 percent increase in people seeking support since 2020 alongside a 36 percent increase in state-mandated service costs. If the renewal fails, the agency says it stands to lose around $4 million in local revenue, with cuts expected to family supports, transportation and homemaker and personal care services. The November vote comes six months after Marion County voters rejected a separate 2.4-mill additional levy for the agency in the May primary.
The county offices on the ballot drew one candidate apiece. Republican Kenneth H. Stiverson is running for county commissioner with no Democrat on the ballot, and Democrat Joan Kasotis is running for county auditor with no Republican filed. Republican Timothy F. Garner is the candidate for county coroner, and Republican Rhonda Burggraf is running for judge of the common pleas court’s family division.
Competition shows up in the district races. In the 4th Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan faces Democrat Joshua D. Kolasinski. Two Ohio House races cover parts of the county: Republican Ben Weber against Democrat Kent Halloran in the 86th District, and Republican Jeff McClain against Democrat Lora Covrett in the 87th District. Republican Mark C. Miller is the candidate for the 3rd District Court of Appeals seat on the ballot.
Beyond the county races and the developmental disabilities renewal, Marion County voters will see township, village and school questions that depend on where they live, and sample ballots for every precinct are posted by the Marion County Board of Elections so voters can review their exact ballot before they head to vote early or on Election Day.
Statewide, Marion County voters will help choose Ohio’s next governor between Republicans Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert A. McColley and Democrats Amy Acton and David Pepper, and decide the U.S. Senate race for an unexpired term between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown. Also on every Ohio ballot are races for attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer, two Ohio Supreme Court seats, and State Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification in order to vote.
Early in-person voting continues at the Marion County Board of Elections, 222 West Center St. in Marion, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through Oct. 23, then 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24; 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26; 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, which is also the deadline to request an absentee ballot; 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 through 30; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Absentee ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, when polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and in-person voters must show an accepted photo ID.