AKRON — Early voting is under way in Summit County, where the Nov. 3 general election ballot is topped locally by a six-candidate race for three at-large seats on Summit County Council, a slate of contested judgeships, three Akron charter amendments, and levy questions in nine communities and five school districts. The Summit County Board of Elections, at 1050 East Tallmadge Avenue in Akron, is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The most contested county race is for County Council member at large, where voters choose up to three. The Democratic candidates are Erin Dickinson, A. John Donofrio and Elizabeth Walters; the Republican candidates are Jonathon D. Bollas, John Chapman and Shane R. Barker. The at-large members represent the whole county on the council that approves the county budget and oversees the charter government led by the county executive.
A full slate of judgeships is also contested. Tammy O’Brien and Tania Nemer are the candidates for a Court of Common Pleas general division term beginning Jan. 2, 2027, and Joy Malek Oldfield and Joe Darwal are the candidates for a general division term beginning May 1, 2027. David Lombardi and Amy Corrigall Jones are the candidates for the juvenile division, Lisa Dean and Katarina Cook for the domestic relations division, and Diana Stevenson and Steve Elliott for the probate division. In the Ninth District Court of Appeals, Democrat Betty Sutton faces Republican Cynthia Curtin for a full term, and Democrat Tavia Galonski faces Republican Nathan Manning for an unexpired term. Judicial candidates appear on the November ballot without party labels.
Akron voters face three charter amendments. Issue 11 would require residential security deposits to be payable over three or six months and ban fees before a rental agreement is signed. Issue 12 would write the city’s anti-discrimination protections into the charter and make criminal history a protected class in housing transactions, with exceptions for sex and arson offenders. Issue 13 would change the makeup of the citizens’ police oversight board and give the Independent Police Auditor subpoena power.
Nine communities have property tax levies on the ballot. Mogadore voters decide a fire and EMS levy renewal of 3.5 mills with a 1.23-mill increase — 4.73 mills in all, collecting an estimated $500,686 a year at $135 for each $100,000 of valuation for five years. Bath Township decides a road levy renewal of 2 mills with a 1.4-mill increase, collecting an estimated $2,294,616 a year. Boston Heights voters decide road and fire renewals and a proposed 0.25% income tax increase for a safety service center, with additional levies in Copley, Coventry, Northfield Center and Springfield townships, Twinsburg Township and Munroe Falls. Five school districts — Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Norton, Tallmadge and Stow-Munroe Falls — have tax issues, and Aurora seeks a $96.2 million bond issue. In the 13th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, a Democrat, faces Republican Carey Coleman and nonpartisan candidate Sandeep Dixit.
Above the local races, Summit 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.
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., and voters can preview their own sample ballot through the board of elections lookup before voting.