McCONNELSVILLE — Early voting is under way in Morgan County, where the Nov. 3 general election ballot is topped locally by courthouse races that were effectively settled in the May primary, when Republican voters picked their nominees and no Democrats entered the county races. The Morgan County Board of Elections, at 155 East Main Street, Room 157, in McConnelsville, is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The county commissioner race drew the year’s hardest local fight — in the spring. Republican Bill Jenkins challenged incumbent Cecil Mayle in the May 5 Republican primary, with no Democratic candidate in the race, and Jenkins advanced to the November ballot as the only candidate for the commissioner term beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The winner of that primary is the name Morgan County voters will see for commissioner this fall.
Two other courthouse offices follow the same pattern. Republican Randy Williams is on the ballot for county auditor, and John A. Wells, the county’s Common Pleas Court judge, is on the ballot for the court’s next term after filing for re-election as a Republican candidate. Both offices drew their candidates through the Republican primary, according to the board of elections’ filings.
Morgan County voters carry no countywide tax levy on their November ballots. The local questions that do appear are narrow ones, including a local liquor option certified by the board of elections for the Nov. 3 ballot, along with any township and village questions that vary by precinct. Voters can check their own sample ballot through the board of elections lookup before voting.
The county’s most competitive November races sit above the courthouse level. In the 95th Ohio House District, which covers all of Morgan County, Republican incumbent Ty Moore of Caldwell faces Democrat Paul Cameron of St. Clairsville. Moore, a former Noble County commissioner, was appointed to the House seat in 2025 and is seeking election to it for the first time.
Morgan County is also part of the 2nd Congressional District, redrawn since the last cycle, where Republican Rep. David Taylor faces Democrat Brian A. Deer. Above those races, county voters will 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.
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 will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Early voting in Morgan County is held at the board of elections office on East Main Street in McConnelsville.
Photo: Tim Kiser, CC BY-SA 2.5