Licking County voters are in the final days of early in-person voting for the Nov. 3 general election, with the Licking County Board of Elections at 20 S. Second St. in Newark open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, when early in-person voting ends, according to the early-voting schedule reported by The Newark Advocate.
Turnout has been running ahead of past midterms. As of Oct. 23, nearly 22,000 ballots had been requested in the county, the board had issued 12,425 absentee ballots with 7,040 returned, and nearly 9,100 people had voted in person, according to Ohio Secretary of State data reported by The Newark Advocate. Board of Elections Deputy Director Brian Mead told The Newark Advocate the county was averaging a little over 700 early voters a day.
At the top of the ballot, county voters are helping decide the statewide races, including governor — Democrat Amy Acton against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy — and the U.S. Senate race, along with the other statewide offices and state Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment on photo identification at the polls, as compiled by The Columbus Dispatch from the board’s certified list.
Locally, voters will choose a successor to County Commissioner Rick Black, decide a contested race for judge of the Licking County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division between incumbent Judge Richard Wright, a Republican, and Democrat Robert Essex, and weigh in on judgeships in the court’s Probate/Juvenile Division, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s candidate guide for the Nov. 3 election.
The only countywide issue besides Issue 3 is the Licking Park District’s request to renew its 0.375-mill property tax levy for five years for parks, trails and recreation, which would generate an estimated $2.27 million a year for a district that maintains 13 parks, preserves and reserves covering more than 1,600 acres, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s roundup of Licking County ballot issues drawn from the board’s certified list.
Depending on where they live, voters also face charter amendments in Heath and Pataskala, a Granville charter question on allowing large data centers, a Perry Township zoning plan, a Pataskala Public Library levy renewal, and Southwest Licking Local School District issues including a proposed change to its earned income tax, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Voters casting a ballot early in person must bring an accepted photo ID, such as an Ohio driver’s license, a U.S. passport or passport card, a U.S. military ID or an Ohio National Guard ID, according to the Ohio Secretary of State. Absentee ballots must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3 — under a state law signed in December 2025 there is no longer a post-Election Day grace period for most absentee ballots, according to The Columbus Dispatch — and voters who requested a ballot by mail are urged to return it in person at 20 S. Second St. rather than risk a late mail delivery.
What happens next: early in-person voting ends at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, and polls across Licking County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Sample ballots and the board’s full candidates and issues lists are posted through the Licking County Board of Elections website.
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA