LOGAN — Early voting is under way in Hocking County, where voters are deciding a Nov. 3 general election ballot topped locally by a renewal levy for senior citizen services and a contested race for county commissioner. The Hocking County Board of Elections, at 93 West Hunter Street in Logan, is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The countywide question asks voters to renew the levy that provides and maintains senior citizen services and facilities in Hocking County. The renewal would collect about $487,604 a year at a rate not exceeding 0.5 mill — about $9 for each $100,000 of a property’s appraised value — for five years, commencing in 2027 and first due in 2028. Because it is a renewal rather than a new tax, it would continue the existing charge that supports services for the county’s older residents.
The most competitive county race on the ballot is for county commissioner, for the full term beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Democrat Michael Schrader faces Republican Tony Wheeler, giving voters a two-party choice for a seat on the three-member board that sets the county budget and oversees county departments and property.
The rest of the county offices are uncontested this cycle. Republican Christopher D. Robers is the only candidate for county auditor, and Jonah M. Saving is the only candidate for judge of the Court of Common Pleas’ domestic, juvenile and probate division, for the full term beginning Feb. 9, 2027. Their names still appear on every precinct’s ballot, alongside district races for Congress and the Statehouse.
District races give Hocking County voters several contested choices. Republican David J. Taylor faces Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli in the 2nd Congressional District, Republican Shane Wilkin faces Democrat Brian A. Deer in the 17th Ohio Senate District, and Republican Mark Johnson faces Democrat Sarah Senff in the 92nd Ohio House District. A seat on the Fourth District Court of Appeals is also contested, with Republican Jayme Hartley Fountain facing Democrat Todd L. Grace, while Republican Peter B. Abele is unopposed for the court’s other open seat.
Township, village and school questions vary across the county’s precincts, and no additional countywide tax question joins the senior services renewal on the ballot. Voters can check exactly which questions apply to them through the board of elections sample ballot lookup before they vote, and Logan-area voters will find the senior levy on every ballot in the county.
Above the local races, Hocking 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 across Hocking County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.