Meigs County voters turned out at 53.83% in the Nov. 3 general election and returned Zachary B. Manuel as county commissioner, according to the Meigs County Board of Elections’ unofficial cumulative results, with all 27 of 27 precincts reporting. The board reported 7,699 ballots cast from 14,303 registered voters.
Manuel, a Republican, ran unopposed for commissioner and received 5,933 votes, according to the board’s unofficial report. The rest of the courthouse slate was likewise unopposed: Auditor Mary T. Byer-Hill received 5,925 votes, Treasurer Tonya M. Griffin received 6,181 votes, and Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Jeremy L. Fisher received 5,954 votes, according to the board.
In the county’s one contested judicial race on the report, Jayme Hartley Fountain defeated Todd L. Grace for Fourth District Court of Appeals judge in Meigs County’s vote, 5,060 to 2,050 — 71.17% to 28.83% — according to the board’s unofficial results.
Meigs County backed Republicans across the statewide ballot in its unofficial vote, according to the board’s report: Vivek Ramaswamy’s ticket took 65.86% for governor against Amy Acton and David Pepper’s 29.77%; Jon Husted took 64.98% for U.S. Senate against Sherrod Brown’s 28.77%; and voters favored Keith Faber for attorney general, Frank LaRose for auditor, Robert Sprague for secretary of state, Jay Edwards for treasurer, and Daniel R. Hawkins and Colleen O’Donnell for the Ohio Supreme Court. David J. Taylor took 72.00% in the county for the U.S. House Second District, and Kevin Ritter took 71.05% for state representative in the 94th District. On statewide Issue 3, the photo ID constitutional amendment, Meigs County voted yes, 5,560 to 1,583 — 77.84% — according to the board.
Countywide money questions split in the unofficial results, according to the board. The senior citizens renewal levy — 1.6 mills for five years — passed with 59.26% voting for it. Two other countywide asks failed: the developmental disabilities additional levy of 2 mills drew 45.68% in favor, and the sheriff operations additional levy of 2.88 mills drew 35.73% in favor.
Township and village levies mostly passed in the unofficial results, according to the board, including fire levies in Middleport, Syracuse, Bedford and Salem townships and road renewals in Chester, Lebanon, Rutland and Salem. One race finished within two votes: Columbia Township’s fire construction additional levy led 305 to 303 in the unofficial count. In Racine, voters approved both liquor options for Sikorski’s Riverway Grill, including Sunday sales, according to the board.
All of the figures above are unofficial. Under Ohio Secretary of State guidance, county boards must complete their official canvass and certify results no later than Nov. 24, 2026 — 21 days after Election Day — before the Secretary of State certifies the statewide results.
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0