BATAVIA — Early voting is under way in Clermont County, where voters are deciding a Nov. 3 general election ballot topped by a countywide children services levy renewal, a contested race for county commissioner and a string of township and school tax questions. Early in-person voting is available at the Clermont County Board of Elections office, 76 S. Riverside Dr. in Batavia, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 23.
The only money question before every voter in the county is the Clermont County Children Services levy, a renewal of 0.8 mills for five years to support children services and the care and placement of children. As a renewal, it would continue an existing tax rather than create a new one. It returns in scaled-back form after a renewal with an increase, totaling 1 mill, failed in the May primary.
The most contested county race is for county commissioner, where Republican Claire Corcoran and Democrat Joe Wessels are running for a four-year term. Corcoran has served since 2019; Wessels won the May Democratic nomination to challenge her.
The remaining county offices are uncontested: Republican John Becker for county auditor, Nathan M. Little for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Probate/Juvenile Division, and Republican Robert A. Hendrickson for judge of the Court of Appeals.
Township voters face a run of safety-services levies. Batavia Township is asking for an additional 8.4-mill continuing levy for a fire and EMS department, with collection beginning in calendar year 2028. Union Township is seeking an additional 1.99-mill continuing levy for police, fire and EMS, plus a Sunday-sales liquor option for Scramblers. Washington Township is asking for an additional 5.5-mill levy for five years for police, fire and ambulance services.
Two school questions overlap parts of the county. Bethel-Tate Local School District voters decide a renewal of 5.48 mills for five years for current operating expenses. U.S. Grant Joint Vocational School District voters decide a 1.15-mill bond issue for 37 years for construction, improvements and renovations to school facilities, paired with an additional 0.84-mill continuing levy for permanent improvements and bond debt charges.
Clermont County voters also help decide races for governor, attorney general, auditor of state, secretary of state and treasurer of state, two Ohio Supreme Court seats, a U.S. Senate seat, and statewide Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment enshrining Ohio’s existing photo-ID law in the state constitution. The county sits in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, where Republican David Taylor faces Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli, and in the 14th Ohio Senate District. Its State House races are the 62nd District — Republican Jean Schmidt against Democrat Ian Schwartz and Libertarian Ron Grethel — and the 63rd, where Republican Adam C. Bird faces Democrat Debbie Davidson.
Absentee ballot applications are due Tuesday, Oct. 27, by 8:30 p.m. Early in-person voting hours expand in the final week: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and Oct. 28–30, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 and 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 1, when early voting ends. There is no early voting Monday, Nov. 2. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters must show accepted photo ID: an unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state ID, a U.S. passport or a U.S. military ID.
Photo: Aesopposea, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons