CARROLLTON — Early voting is under way in Carroll County, where voters are deciding a Nov. 3 general election ballot topped locally by a renewal levy for the county home and a three-way race for a common pleas judgeship covering probate and juvenile court. The Carroll County Board of Elections, now located at 211 Moody Avenue Southwest, Suite 107, in Carrollton, is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The countywide question asks voters to renew the levy that maintains and operates the Carroll County Home. The renewal would collect about $1,761,950 a year at 1.4 mills — about $30 for each $100,000 of a property’s appraised value — for five years, commencing in 2027 and first due in 2028. County home supporters describe the levy as the operating backbone of the county-run residential facility, and because it is a renewal rather than a new tax, it would not raise the rate property owners already pay.
The most competitive county race on the ballot is for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, probate and juvenile division, a six-year term beginning Feb. 9, 2027. Jennifer L. Thomas and Maureen Stoneman are listed on the ballot, and Vincent L. Slabaugh is running as a write-in candidate, giving voters three paths in a race that handles estates, adoptions, juvenile cases and other sensitive family matters for the whole county.
The rest of the county offices are uncontested this cycle. Republican Ron Eick is the only candidate for the county commissioner seat up this year, a four-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and Republican Staci L. Brady is unopposed for county auditor, a four-year term beginning March 8, 2027. Their names still appear on every precinct’s ballot, alongside a contested Seventh District Court of Appeals race.
Village and township voters face their own money questions. Carrollton village voters will decide a 1-mill renewal for fire personnel, buildings and equipment, collecting about $69,960 a year. Fox Township voters are asked for an additional 1.5 mills for fire protection, while voters in parts of Rose Township will see renewals for roads and bridges and for fire service, Magnolia village voters a police renewal, and Dellroy voters a renewal for current expenses.
School questions reach into parts of the county as well. Voters in a slice of the Sandy Valley Local School District will decide a 2.3-mill renewal for current operating expenses, and voters in the Edison Local and Jefferson County Joint Vocational districts, which overlap Carroll County precincts, face their own operating renewals. Voters can check exactly which questions apply to them through the board’s sample ballot lookup before they vote.
Above the local races, Carroll County voters will also help decide Ohio’s statewide contests — governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court and a U.S. Senate seat — plus statewide Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment on voter identification, their congressional race, and seats in the Ohio Senate’s 33rd District and the Ohio House’s 79th District.
Early voting hours expand in the final week: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28 to 30, with weekend hours on Saturday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 31, and a final Sunday session on Nov. 1 from 1 to 5 p.m. 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 Carroll County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
