PORTSMOUTH — Early voting is under way in Scioto County, where the Nov. 3 general election ballot is topped locally by two seats on the board of county commissioners, a contested county auditor’s race and a street-resurfacing levy for Portsmouth voters. The Scioto County Board of Elections, at 602 Seventh Street, Room 105, in Portsmouth, is open for early in-person voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week.
The most contested courthouse race is the seat on the Scioto County Board of Commissioners for a full term beginning Jan. 1, 2027, where Democrat Abby Spears faces Republican Steven Will Mault. Voters will also fill a second commissioner seat for an unexpired term ending Jan. 1, 2029, where Republican Merit Smith is the candidate on the ballot. The winners will join the three-member board that sets the county budget and oversees county departments.
The county auditor’s race is also contested: Democrat Tricia M. Eichenlaub faces Republican Christopher Blackburn for the office that appraises property and calculates the county’s taxes. On the judicial ballot, Mark E. Kuhn is the candidate for judge of the Court of Common Pleas for a term beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Howard H. Harcha III is the candidate for a common pleas term beginning Feb. 10, 2027, and Rebecca L. Bennett is the candidate for the court’s probate and juvenile division for a term beginning Feb. 9, 2027. Judicial candidates appear on the November ballot without party labels.
Portsmouth voters will decide a renewal levy for the city’s street resurfacing program. The proposed renewal is 1.5 mills for five years, commencing in 2027, and the county auditor estimates it will collect $382,516 annually — about $39 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value — to pay for operations, maintenance of equipment and capital improvements for street resurfacing. Because it is a renewal, the levy continues an existing tax rather than creating a new one.
District races give Scioto County voters contested choices above the courthouse level. In the 2nd Congressional District, Republican David J. Taylor faces Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli. In the 90th Ohio House District, Republican Justin Pizzulli faces Democrat Collin Docterman. A seat on the Fourth District Court of Appeals, which reviews cases from Scioto County’s trial courts, pits Democrat Todd L. Grace against Republican Jayme Hartley Fountain for a term beginning Feb. 9, 2027.
Above the local races, Scioto 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 will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters can preview their own sample ballot through the board of elections lookup before voting.
Photo: Christopher L. Riley, CC BY-SA 4.0