Clinton County voters are in the final stretch of early voting, with in-person ballots available at the Clinton County Board of Elections, 111 S. Nelson Ave., Suite 4, in Wilmington, through Sunday, Nov. 1, ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.
Under the statewide early in-person voting schedule published by the Secretary of State, boards of elections are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 29 and 30, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
Clinton County’s Nov. 3 ballot includes Wilmington rezoning referendums and levy renewals, alongside the statewide races and State Issue 3, the proposed photo ID constitutional amendment, that every Ohio voter will decide.
One measure Wilmington voters will not see is a citizen initiative to add data center regulations to the city’s zoning code. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in September that the initiative could not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot because it improperly contained a provision allowing private citizens to sue data centers over zoning violations, according to Court News Ohio, the Ohio Judicial Center’s news service. The Clinton County Board of Elections had declined to certify the initiative, and the court upheld that decision.
Voters who requested absentee ballots by mail face a hard deadline: ballots must be received by the board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to count. Secretary of State Frank LaRose said on Oct. 27 that it might already be too late to drop a ballot in the mail and have it arrive by the deadline, according to Cleveland.com reporting carried by The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Columbus Dispatch. Clinton County voters can instead return a completed ballot in person at the board office in Wilmington.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail passed on Oct. 27, so voters who have not yet cast a ballot have two remaining paths: vote early in person in Wilmington through Sunday, or vote at their assigned polling place on Election Day.
Polls across Ohio will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters who are in line when a voting session is scheduled to end are still allowed to vote, and the Secretary of State’s website carries each voter’s registration status, polling location and sample ballot information.
Photo: Aesopposea, CC BY-SA