CLEVELAND — Early in-person voting is under way at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, 1803 Superior Ave. in Cleveland, and the Nov. 3 general election ballot is topped by two large countywide tax levies — Issue 10 and Issue 11 — that together would raise hundreds of millions of dollars a year for health, human services and developmental disabilities programs.
Issue 11, the Health and Human Services levy, combines a renewal of 4.7 mills with an increase of 2.5 mills, for a total of 7.2 mills over 10 years commencing in 2026. The levy is estimated to raise $261,527,652 a year, at a cost of about $196 per $100,000 of property value; the increase portion works out to roughly $87.50 more per year per $100,000. The money supports children in county custody, senior services, homelessness programs, the ADAMHS Board, MetroHealth and Juvenile Court, and supporters have pitched the increase as a response to federal funding cuts.
Issue 10 is an additional 2.25-mill tax for community programs and services for people with developmental disabilities. It would run 10 years commencing in 2026, raise an estimated $99,684,616 a year, and cost about $79 per $100,000 of property value.
Three County Council seats are contested. In District 1, incumbent Democrat Patrick Kelly faces Republican James Trutko. In District 5, Democrat Courtney Scheff challenges incumbent Republican Michael Gallagher. In District 11, Democrat Christine McIntosh runs against Republican William McLaughlin. Incumbents Martin Sweeney (District 3), Yvonne Conwell (District 7) and Meredith Turner (District 9) are unopposed.
On the judicial ballot, the contested Court of Common Pleas general division race pits Antonio Nicholson against Fallon Radigan; most other judicial races on the county ballot drew a single candidate.
Statewide, Ohio voters will choose a governor — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, Democrat Amy Acton or Libertarian Don Kissick — and decide a U.S. Senate race between Republican Jon Husted, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Libertarian William B. Redpath. Also on the ballot are attorney general (Keith Faber vs. John J. Kulewicz), auditor of state (Frank LaRose vs. Annette Blackwell), secretary of state (Robert Sprague vs. Allison Russo), treasurer (Jay Edwards vs. Seth Walsh), two Ohio Supreme Court seats, and State Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would require photo identification to vote.
Early in-person voting continues at the board of elections in Cleveland from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through Oct. 23, then expands: Saturday, Oct. 24 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 26 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Oct. 28–30 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 1 from 1 to 5 p.m. Absentee ballot applications are due by 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 27, and voted absentee ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Voters must show photo identification, and polls will be open Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY