ASHLAND — Early in-person voting is under way in Ashland County, where voters are deciding a Nov. 3 general election ballot topped locally by a developmental disabilities levy combining a renewal with the board’s first increase in about 20 years, and by a contested race for county commissioner. The Ashland County Board of Elections, at 110 Cottage St., Suite 106 in Ashland, is open for early voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The countywide question is a single proposed 3.10-mill levy for the Ashland County Board of Developmental Disabilities, for three years. It pairs a renewal of the existing 2.10-mill levy — which continues services at the rate residents already pay — with a new 1-mill increase, the board’s first millage increase in approximately two decades. The county auditor estimates the levy would collect $4,704,229 a year if approved. The increase alone would cost $35 a year for each $100,000 of a home’s market value, about 10 cents a day. The levy funds services for nearly 400 county residents a year, including Dale-Roy School, Early Intervention, transition programs in county schools, and adult day and vocational programs.
The most contested county race is for county commissioner. Republican Brandon Carpenter won a four-way Republican primary in May with 1,722 votes, about 30.9 percent, ahead of Denny D. Bittle, Jeff Hardman and Burton Williams. He faces Democrat Sandy Bally, who was unopposed in her party’s primary, in the general election.
Other county offices are unopposed. Republican Cindy Funk is the only candidate for county auditor, and Republican Karen DeSanto Kellogg is the only candidate for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, probate and juvenile division. In the district races, Republican Max Miller faces Democrat Brian Poindexter in the 7th Congressional District, and Republican Melanie Miller faces Democrat Heather L. Sample in the 67th Ohio House District.
School and local questions vary by precinct. Ashland City School District voters will decide a 9.9-mill renewal levy for current expenses, and voters in the Loudonville Public Library district will decide a renewal of that library’s 0.8-mill levy for five years for current expenses, an amount the auditor puts at $19 for each $100,000 of market value. Township, village and other school questions also appear in parts of the county, and voters can check which apply to them through the board’s sample ballot lookup. The developmental disabilities levy is the one local tax question every Ashland County voter will decide.
Above the local races, Ashland 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 stretch: Saturday, Oct. 24, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 26, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28 to 30, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and a final session Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 5 p.m., when early voting ends. 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 across Ashland County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.