CELINA — Early in-person voting is under way in Mercer County ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election, and voters around Grand Lake will decide a slate of county offices and judgeships — while also casting a ballot in a statewide attorney general’s race that features one of Celina’s own.
At the county level, Republican David Buschur is the candidate for county commissioner for the term beginning in January, Republican Jeffrey S. Larmore is the candidate for county auditor, and Republican Alyssa Tobe is the candidate for an unexpired term as county coroner.
Judicial races on the Mercer County ballot include Republican Matthew L. Gilmore for judge of the common pleas court’s juvenile and probate division, and Republican Mark C. Miller for the 3rd District Court of Appeals.
In the district races, Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan faces Democrat Joshua D. Kolasinski in the 4th Congressional District, and Republican Angie King is the candidate for state representative in the 84th Ohio House District. Mercer County voters already weighed in on their most recent county tax question earlier this year, approving a 0.40-mill, 10-year renewal levy for children services in the May primary; the November ballot’s remaining local questions are township, village and school matters that vary by precinct.
Statewide, Mercer 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. The attorney general’s race carries a hometown angle: Republican Keith Faber, a former state auditor and state lawmaker, is from Celina, and he faces Democrat John J. Kulewicz. Also on every Ohio ballot are races for 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 Mercer County Board of Elections, 101 N. Main St., Room 107, in Celina, 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, Tuesday, Nov. 3, when polls across Mercer County are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. In-person voters, whether early or on Election Day, must show an accepted photo ID, such as an unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state ID card, a U.S. passport or a military identification.