ATHENS, Ohio — Athens County voters headed into the final day of early in-person voting on Sunday, Nov. 1, with polls on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, set to decide a contested county commissioner race, a countywide health department levy and a full slate of state and judicial races, according to the Athens County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State.
Early in-person voting took place at the Board of Elections office, 15 S. Court St., Room 130, in Athens, the board said. Sunday’s hours were 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday was the last day of early in-person voting on both the board’s schedule and the Secretary of State’s statewide schedule — no early in-person hours are listed for Monday, Nov. 2. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls at precinct polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The contested county race on the ballot is county commissioner, for a full term commencing Jan. 1, 2027. Autumn Brown, a Democrat, faces Sarah Danielle Smith, a Republican, according to the board’s official sample ballots. The county auditor’s race is uncontested, with Jill A. Davidson, a Republican, the only name on the ballot in the sample ballots and precinct contest file reviewed.
Countywide, Issue 7 asks Athens County voters to approve an additional tax levy for the maintenance and operation of the Athens City-County Health Department. The board’s ballot language says the levy would collect an estimated $1,520,051 annually at a rate not exceeding 1 mill — $35 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value — for 10 years, commencing in 2026 and first due in calendar year 2027. A majority yes vote is required for passage.
Voters will also decide school and township issues that vary by precinct, including school district income tax questions in the Alexander Local and Athens City districts and township levies for purposes such as fire protection, roads and cemeteries, according to the board’s precinct contest file. Because those issues differ by where a voter lives, the board’s sample-ballot display is the authoritative check for any individual voter’s exact ballot.
Every Athens County ballot also carries the statewide races and State Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification in order to vote, according to the Secretary of State. The statewide contests include governor, U.S. senator, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer and two Ohio Supreme Court seats, the board’s sample ballots show.
The board did not publish a county early-vote total in the materials reviewed for this story, and no Athens County turnout figure is reported here. What happens next is Election Day itself: voters who have not voted early or by mail will cast ballots at their precinct polling places on Tuesday between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., and non-overseas absentee ballots must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Photo: Stch2022, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons