NEW LEXINGTON — Early voting is under way in Perry County, where the Nov. 3 general election ballot is topped locally by a courthouse slate of county offices and judgeships that took shape in the May primary. The Perry County Board of Elections, at 200 South Jackson Street in New Lexington, is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The county offices on the ballot start with county commissioner, where Republican nominee Scott Owen is the candidate for the full term beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and county auditor, where Republican Derek Householder is the candidate on the November ballot. Householder, whose name is familiar in Perry County politics, emerged from the Republican primary for the office that appraises property and calculates the county’s taxes.
Voters will also fill the county coroner’s office for an unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2028, where Jeffrey P. VanMeter is the candidate on the ballot. Unexpired terms arise when an officeholder leaves mid-term, and the November winner will serve the remainder of the term rather than a full four years.
Two judgeships anchor the judicial ballot. Carolyn J. Carnes is the candidate for judge of the Court of Common Pleas’ probate and juvenile division for a term beginning Feb. 9, 2027, and Steve Carr is the candidate for the court’s general division. Judicial candidates appear on the November ballot without party labels. A seat on the Fifth District Court of Appeals, which reviews cases from Perry County’s trial courts, is also up for a term beginning Feb. 9, 2027.
Perry County’s November ballot carries no countywide tax levy among its certified questions, so the local decisions this fall are about the people who will run the courthouse — the commissioners who set the county budget, the auditor who values its property and the judges who hear its cases. Township, village and school questions vary by precinct, and voters can preview their own sample ballot through the board of elections lookup before voting.
Above the local races, Perry County voters will also help decide Ohio’s statewide contests — governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer, two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court, the U.S. Senate race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, and statewide Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification in order to vote.
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, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 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 will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.