TOLEDO, Ohio — Early in-person voting is under way in Lucas County, where a new library levy, a Toledo Public Schools levy and contested races for county commissioner and county auditor top the Nov. 3 ballot. Early ballots are being cast at the Lucas County Board of Elections, 3737 W. Sylvania Ave. in Toledo, and officials remind voters it is the county’s only early voting location — on Election Day, voters must go to their assigned precinct.
Issue 8, the countywide headliner, is an additional 3-mill levy for the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, for current expenses. The county auditor estimates it will collect $34,261,921 annually, amounting to $105 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value, for five years commencing in 2026. Library officials say the levy would close a gap created by state funding cuts of nearly $2 million and restore service hours the system was forced to eliminate; the library board has said it intends to stop collecting its existing 3.7-mill levy if voters approve the new one.
Issue 9 asks Toledo Public Schools voters for a new five-year, 6.9-mill levy for current expenses, costing $242 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value, as the district cites state funding cuts and declining enrollment. Issue 13 is a countywide renewal of the 0.17-mill levy for Imagination Station, the downtown Toledo science center — $3 for each $100,000 of market value, collecting an estimated $1.3 million annually for five years. Toledo voters also face Issue 16, a new 0.25 percent city income tax dedicated to neighborhood safety, police and fire services and gang disruption, along with charter amendments at Issues 17, 18 and 19.
The most contested county race is for county commissioner, where Democrat Lisa A. Sobecki faces Republican Laura Brown and Libertarian Brenden Johnson. The county auditor’s race is also contested, between Democrat Katie Moline and Republican Carolyn Munn. Judicial races include Tom Puffenberger against Jaime Agnew for Common Pleas, Probate Division, and a three-way contest for the 6th District Court of Appeals among Myron C. Duhart, Michael R. Goulding and CJ Kamm.
Because so many of Lucas County’s questions are district-specific, election officials urge voters to review their own sample ballot before heading out — a Toledo voter’s ballot carries the city income tax and charter questions, while suburban and township ballots carry their own school, township and village items. The Board of Elections posts sample ballots and precinct information through its voter lookup tools.
At the top of every Lucas County ballot are the statewide races: Republican Vivek Ramaswamy against Democrat Amy Acton for governor, and Democrat Sherrod Brown against Republican Jon Husted for the U.S. Senate. State Issue 3 asks voters to write Ohio’s photo ID voting requirement into the state constitution, defining approved identification from an unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state ID to U.S. passports and military, National Guard and Veterans Affairs cards.
Early in-person voting at 3737 W. Sylvania Ave. 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 all absentee ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. to be counted.
Photo: Warren LeMay, CC BY-SA 2.0