Early in-person voting enters its final week in Madison County, where voters can cast ballots at the Madison County Board of Elections, 288 Lafayette Street in London, through Sunday, November 1, ahead of the November 3 general election. Tuesday, October 27, carries a double deadline: the board is open for early voting from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and applications for absentee ballots by mail must be received by boards of elections by 8:30 p.m. that evening, under the Ohio Secretary of State’s schedule.
Madison County voters will find only one issue that appears on every ballot in the county: State Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment on whether requiring photo identification at the polls should be written into the Ohio Constitution. Everything else on the ballot is local to where a voter lives, according to the board of elections’ certified list as compiled by The Columbus Dispatch.
Fire and emergency medical levies dominate the local ballot. Voters in the Central Townships Joint Fire District — Deercreek, Monroe, Oak Run, Paint, Somerford and Union townships and Choctaw Lake East and West — will decide an additional 4.75-mill, five-year levy for fire protection and EMS equipment and operations, estimated to raise $2.19 million a year and cost $166 per $100,000 of market value. The same communities also vote on a Madison County Emergency Medical District levy of 4.75 mills for five years for ambulance and emergency medical service, estimated at $2,199,290 a year.
Elsewhere in the county, the Tri-County Joint Fire District in the Mt. Sterling and Pleasant Township area seeks an additional 2.5 mills for five years for firefighting, ambulance, paramedic and other emergency medical services; Range Township asks to renew a 1.7-mill fire levy; and the Sterling Joint Ambulance District asks to renew a 1.8-mill levy. The City of London has two issues: renewal of a 2.1-mill, five-year levy for current expenses, estimated at $439,585 a year, and a question on whether the city may aggregate retail natural gas purchases for residents who do not opt out.
West Jefferson voters face the longest local ballot in the county: seven proposed village charter amendments covering the mayor’s office, council, the clerk of council, meeting and notice rules, executive directors and administration, the planning and zoning commission, and general powers including conflict-of-interest and anti-nepotism language. Darby Township voters will decide whether to adopt a township zoning plan replacing the Madison County Zoning Resolution in the township’s unincorporated area. School voters will see a Jefferson Local Schools additional 2.55-mill levy for permanent improvements and a Miami Trace Local Schools renewal of 2.2 mills for current expenses in the Pleasant and Range township portions of that district.
Remaining early-voting hours under the statewide schedule are 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, October 28 to 30; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, October 31; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, November 1. There is no early voting on Monday, November 2. Absentee ballots must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, to be counted; voters holding a completed absentee ballot this late in the cycle can return it in person to the board office.
On Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, polls across Madison County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at assigned precinct polling places, and voters in line by 7:30 p.m. may still vote. This story is part of NewsForce247’s second-pass election coverage of every Ohio county; Madison County’s first-pass ballot preview appeared earlier this month.