CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Ross County voters will not settle a single contested county office this fall, but their Nov. 3 ballot still carries two big money questions: a second attempt at a school income tax and a renewed push for the senior services levy that failed last year. Early voting is under way at the Ross County Board of Elections in Chillicothe, and polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Chillicothe City Schools is back before voters with a proposed 0.75 percent earned income tax for a five-year term. The levy would apply to wages, tips and self-employment income but not to Social Security, pensions, interest or capital gains. District Treasurer Nick Rose has presented the plan to city council and in public forums. The same proposal failed in the May primary by just 61 votes, 1,858 against to 1,797 for, part of a statewide wave of spring school levies that went down.
Countywide, commissioners placed a renewal of the 0.5-mill Ross County Senior Citizens Services levy back on the ballot after voters rejected it last fall, 53.4 percent to 46.7 percent. The levy funds services for older residents, including the senior center on Western Avenue in Chillicothe, and county officials say a new spending agreement with the Ross County Committee for Elderly is being worked out to address disputes that flared last summer over how levy money was managed.
None of the courthouse races is contested. Businessman David S. Pinkerton is unopposed for county commissioner, Auditor Jeff Lehner is unopposed for a second term, and Prosecutor Jeffrey C. Marks filed unopposed for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Probate and Juvenile Division, meaning his replacement as prosecutor will be chosen by the county Republican Party’s central committee. The county’s appeals seat is in transition: longtime Judge Peter B. Abele died while running unopposed, and Republican district leaders named Jayme Hartley Fountain as the replacement nominee, so she faces Democrat Todd L. Grace in the Fourth District.
The contested races on Ross County ballots are at the Statehouse. Incumbent Republican Sen. Shane Wilkin faces Democrat Brian A. Deer in the 17th Senate District, which spans Ross, Fayette, Highland, Pike, Vinton and other southern Ohio counties. In the 91st House District, Republican Bob Peterson faces Democrat Amy Wright; in the 92nd, Republican Mark Johnson faces Democrat Sarah Senff. For Congress in the 2nd District, Republican incumbent David J. Taylor faces Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli.
Statewide contests round out the ballot, headlined by the governor’s race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton, which has drawn both candidates to Ross County in person, and the unexpired U.S. Senate term between Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Jon Husted. State Issue 3 asks voters whether Ohio’s photo identification requirements for voting should be written into the state constitution.
Early in-person voting runs on the statewide schedule: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 23, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, extended hours the last week of October, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. Absentee ballot applications must reach the board by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and voted mail ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Voters casting a ballot in person need an accepted photo ID, such as an Ohio driver’s license, state ID card or U.S. passport.