NEWARK, Ohio — Early in-person voting is under way in fast-growing Licking County, where voters are choosing a new county commissioner, deciding three contested Common Pleas judgeships and weighing a countywide park levy renewal ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election. Early ballots are being cast at the Licking County Board of Elections, 20 S. 2nd St. in Newark.
The only countywide issue on the ballot is a renewal of the 0.375-mill property tax for the Licking Park District, supporting the district’s parks, trails, programs and other activities for five years. If renewed, property owners will pay $10 per $100,000 of the county auditor’s assessed market value. Renewal keeps the existing tax in place rather than creating a new one, and the park question appears on ballots in every corner of the county.
The race for county commissioner will pick the successor to Rick Black, a commissioner since 2014 who did not seek re-election. Republican Mark Van Buren, 59, of Hebron — a longtime Harrison Township trustee who briefly served as a commissioner in 2008 — faces Democrat Mary “Kathy” McLeish, 70, of Newark, whose background is two decades in public education and child and family services. A declared write-in candidate, Brian Belcher of Johnstown, is also in the race; only votes for filed write-in candidates can be counted.
All three divisions of the Court of Common Pleas are on the ballot. In the Domestic Relations Division, Republican incumbent Richard Wright of Glenford faces Democrat Robert Essex of Granville. In the Probate/Juvenile Division, Republican incumbent Deborah Lang faces Democrat Michael Dalsanto, both of Newark. Republican Thomas M. Marcelain is unopposed in the General Division, County Auditor Michael L. Smith, a Republican, is unopposed, and Republican Matthew George is the candidate for the 5th District Court of Appeals.
Growth fights show up lower on the ballot. Pataskala voters will decide a charter amendment to ban data centers of more than 25 megawatts in the city — one of several central Ohio fights over large data center development — while voters in the Pataskala Public Library district will decide a renewal levy for the library. School, township and village questions in other parts of the county fill out precinct ballots, and the Board of Elections posts each precinct’s official sample ballot online.
Statehouse and congressional races are contested, too: Republican Troy Balderson faces Democrat Jerrad Christian for Congress in the 12th District; Republican Thad Claggett faces Democrat Mason Blankenship in the 68th Ohio House District; and Republican Kevin D. Miller faces Democrat Amy Rigsby in the 69th District. At the top of the ticket, voters are choosing a governor — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy or Democrat Amy Acton — and a U.S. senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown or Republican Jon Husted, plus State Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment requiring photo identification to vote.
Early in-person voting at the Board of Elections in Newark runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 23; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24; 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26; 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, the deadline for absentee ballot applications to be received; 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 through Oct. 30; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and absentee ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. to count.