Clinton County voters backed Republicans in Ohio’s top races by wide margins in the November 3 general election, according to the Clinton County Board of Elections’ final unofficial canvass, covering all 36 of the county’s 36 precincts. The board reported 15,623 ballots cast from 27,368 registered voters — a turnout of 57.08% — and every figure remains unofficial until the county completes its official canvass and certifies its results.
In the governor’s race, Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert A. McColley received 10,253 votes in Clinton County (66.29%) to 4,465 (28.87%) for Amy Acton and David Pepper — an unofficial margin of 5,788 votes. In the U.S. Senate race, Jon Husted received 10,056 votes (65.22%) to 4,242 (27.51%) for Sherrod Brown, an unofficial margin of 5,814 votes, the board of elections reported.
State Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment to require voters to present photo identification in order to vote, carried Clinton County by nearly four to one in the unofficial results: 12,144 votes yes (79.47%) to 3,137 no, according to the board’s summary. The amendment’s ballot language, certified by the Ohio Secretary of State, would require an approved form of government-issued photo ID to vote, with state law permitted to provide an alternative verification for voters with a sincere religious objection to being photographed.
The night’s clearest local verdict came in Wilmington, where voters rejected all four city rezoning referendum ordinances — the same measures NewsForce247 previewed in Clinton County’s first-pass ballot story on October 18. Ordinance O-26-04 failed with 79.61% voting no, O-26-05 with 79.77% no, O-26-06 with 79.95% no, and O-26-07 with 80.25% no in the unofficial count, the board reported. Countywide, voters renewed three levies: the Health District 0.5-mill renewal passed with 63.78% in favor, the Senior Services 2.35-mill renewal with 70.97%, and the Warren-Clinton Mental Health Recovery 1-mill renewal with 59.49%.
Not every local question passed. East Clinton Schools’ 1.25% income tax failed in the unofficial count, with 58.26% voting against, and Blanchester Village’s additional cemetery levy also failed. Two village results were close enough that the canvass matters: Sabina’s 0.5% police income tax failed unofficially by just 13 votes, 334 to 321, and Midland’s 3-mill current-expenses renewal passed unofficially by a single vote, 32 to 31, according to the board’s summary. The county’s three courthouse offices — Commissioner Mike McCarty, Auditor Terence G. Habermehl, and Probate/Juvenile Judge Chad L. Carey — were each unopposed.
None of these results is final yet. Under Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2026-48, the post-election cure period runs through Saturday, November 7, with boards of elections open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so voters can cure absentee identification-envelope deficiencies or show photo ID for a provisional ballot. The Clinton County Board of Elections sits at 111 S. Nelson Ave., Suite 4, in Wilmington. As of the election-night report, no provisional ballots had been counted in any Clinton County contest — those ballots are examined during the canvass.
What happens next is set by that same directive: the official canvass must begin no earlier than Sunday, November 8, and no later than Wednesday, November 18, and the board must complete the canvass and certify Clinton County’s results no later than Tuesday, November 24, 2026, the 21st day after the election. Only then do the unofficial margins above — including Sabina’s 13 votes and Midland’s single vote — become the county’s official word.