NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — Tuscarawas County voters returned Commissioner Kristin Zemis to office and chose Lisa Contini as the county’s next auditor in the November 3, 2026, general election, according to unofficial results reported by the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections from all 81 precincts in the county. Every result in this story is unofficial until the board completes its official canvass and certifies the election.
In the commissioner race, Republican incumbent Kristin Zemis received 20,649 votes to 11,012 for Democratic challenger Kent Watson, according to the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections’ unofficial count. In the auditor race, Republican Lisa Contini received 21,473 votes to 10,215 for Democrat Joe Rinehart, according to the board’s unofficial results. Contini, who has served as chief deputy auditor since 2024, will succeed retiring Auditor Larry Lindberg.
The county’s only countywide levy went down to defeat. The proposed additional 10-year, 1.2-mill tax for the Tuscarawas County Board of Developmental Disabilities failed, with 12,919 votes in favor and 18,348 against, according to the unofficial results from the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections. The levy was one of 23 levies decided across the county on November 3.
Voters in the village of Barnhill made an unusual decision about their community’s future. According to unofficial results from the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections, Barnhill voters approved surrendering the village’s corporate powers by a vote of 70 to 24. Elsewhere, most local renewal levies for villages, townships, schools, and fire services passed, while a proposed New Philadelphia parks levy and several other additional levies were rejected in the unofficial count.
Tuscarawas County voters also weighed in on State Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment to require photo identification for voting. Statewide, Issue 3 passed with 65.88 percent voting yes to 34.12 percent voting no, according to final unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State, with 4,186,334 ballots counted on the issue. The amendment writes Ohio’s existing photo identification requirement into the state constitution.
The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections, based at 933 East High Avenue in New Philadelphia, will now move from election-night reporting to the official canvass. Under Ohio law, the board must count any eligible provisional and outstanding absentee ballots, complete the canvass, and certify the county’s results before the Ohio Secretary of State certifies statewide results. Close margins can shift during that process, which is why officials stress the November 3 figures remain unofficial.
What happens next is certification. The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections will announce and hold its certification proceedings in the coming weeks, and the certified county results will then be transmitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. Once certification is complete, the winning candidates in the commissioner and auditor races will be formally declared elected, the developmental disabilities levy result will become final, and Barnhill’s dissolution vote will move to its next legal steps. Residents can follow the canvass and certification through the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State.
Photo: Tim Kiser, CC BY-SA 2.5