CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — Pickaway County voters backed Republican candidates by wide margins in statewide races and rejected a county park levy in the November 3, 2026, general election, according to unofficial results from the Pickaway County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State. The unofficial count showed 22,379 ballots cast out of 38,625 registered voters, a turnout of 57.9 percent, with all 46 precincts reporting. Every figure remains unofficial until the board certifies its official canvass.
At the top of the ticket, the county voted the opposite way from Ohio as a whole. In the Associated Press tabulation of board and Secretary of State data, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy carried the county for governor with 13,632 votes, 61.7 percent, to Democrat Amy Acton’s 7,569, 34.3 percent — county-only unofficial figures; the AP called the statewide race for Acton. Republican Jon Husted likewise carried the county for U.S. Senate, 13,926 votes, 62.9 percent, to Democrat Sherrod Brown’s 7,031, 31.7 percent, in the same AP tabulation; the AP called that statewide race for Brown.
State Issue 3, the photo ID constitutional amendment, passed overwhelmingly in the county, drawing 17,194 yes votes, 78.0 percent, to 4,838 no votes, 22.0 percent, in the Secretary of State’s unofficial count, and the AP called it a winner statewide as well. In Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, Republican Mike Carey won Pickaway County with 14,408 votes, 65.5 percent, to Democrat Don Leonard’s 6,863, 31.2 percent, in the Secretary of State’s unofficial count.
The clearest local decision was the Pickaway County Park District’s renewal and increase tax levy, which failed in the board’s unofficial count, 11,868 votes against, 54.1 percent, to 10,065 in favor, 45.9 percent. The Secretary of State’s unofficial results from the board’s returns also showed Republican Jay H. Wippel winning a commissioner seat (17,319 votes), Republican Brad Washburn elected auditor unopposed (17,490), Shelly R. Harsha winning a Common Pleas judgeship unopposed (16,958), and Democrat Brad Cotton winning coroner (12,320).
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the unofficial totals are not the final word. The Secretary of State’s office reported 15 outstanding absentee ballots and 427 outstanding provisional ballots in the county still to be resolved before certification, so totals will shift somewhat — though the park levy’s 1,803-vote margin exceeds them. Under Directive 2026-48, voters with a deficiency on a provisional or absentee ballot have a cure period through Saturday, November 7.
Those margins did not change the statewide winners. What Pickaway County decided for itself — the park levy and its county offices — was settled by voters here, subject only to the final certified count.
What happens next is the official canvass. Under Directive 2026-48, the Pickaway County Board of Elections must begin its official canvass between Sunday, November 8, and Wednesday, November 18, 2026, and must certify by Tuesday, November 24, 2026. The Secretary of State then reviews the county certifications before the final statewide certification. NewsForce247 will update this story with the certified results.
Photo: Analogue Kid, CC BY-SA 3.0