What's on the primary ballot in Licking County? Here is a summary of contested races, issues
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Early in-person voting for the March 19 primary election is underway across Ohio, including at the Licking County Board of Elections in Newark.
County Board of Elections Director Brian Mead said he expects a total primary election turnout of about 35,000, including about 3,000 early in-person voters and about 3,000 absentee ballots filed by mail. There are about 126,420 registered voters in the county.
Ohio registered voters decide in the primary election whether they want a Republican, Democratic or unaffiliated ballot. Unaffiliated voters can only cast ballots in local or statewide issues.
In Licking County, Republicans have multiple candidates to choose from for president, U.S. Senate, Ohio 5th District Court of Appeals judgeships and Ohio 69th House District representative. Democrats have choices for president, Ohio Supreme Court justice and Licking County commissioner.
Here is a quick summary of contested candidate races on Licking County ballots — not including races for county or state party committee posts — and local issues that voters in certain municipalities and school districts will face. (The issues listings do not include requests for local alcohol sales at particular businesses or entities where only registered voters in those neighborhood precincts will decide.)
President of the United States
Despite what you might think, Democratic incumbent Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump are not the only candidates seeking to become president. Both have at least one challenger on their party's primary ballot in Ohio.
Biden is opposed by U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District.
Trump is opposed by Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and U.N. Ambassador. Although the other three candidates on the Republican ballot in Ohio have officially suspended their campaigns, their names remain on the ballot in the Buckeye state: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Vivek Ramaswamy, a Cincinnati native and biotech entrepreneur; and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown is unopposed on his party's primary ballot, and in November will face the winner among three Republicans battling for their party's nomination: Matt Dolan, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, whose office oversees the state's elections; and Bernie Moreno, who has the endorsement of former President Trump.
From Dispatch coverage on the Senate race:
Ohio GOP Debate: Where Candidates Stand
Dolan pledged to help GOP with new political action committee. Did he deliver?
Ohio Supreme Court
In the only contested primary race among the three seats up for grabs on the state's highest court, Democrats Lisa Forbes and Terri Jamison are competing for their party's nomination to face unopposed Republican Daniel R. Hawkins in November.
Ohio 5th District Court of Appeals
There are three seats up for election on the court, which is based in Canton but covers Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Ashland, Coshocton, Guernsey, Holmes, Knox, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Richland, Stark and Tuscarawas counties.
Two of the seats belong to current judges who are age-limited and cannot seek reelection: W. Scott Gwin and John W. Wise. No Democrats are listed on the ballot for any of the seats.
Seat 1: Republicans Aletha M. Carver, of Canton; Jeff Furr, of Utica, and Robert G. Montgomery, of Blue Rock, are competing for their party's nomination.
Seat 2: Republicans Dixie Park, of Canton, and Kevin W. Popham, of Powell, seek this seat.
Seat 3: Incumbent Presiding Judge A. Delaney, of Delaware, is opposed by David Gormley, of Powell.
Ohio House
69th House District: Incumbent Kevin Miller, of Newark, is being challenged by Daniel Kalmbach, of Thornville. The winner will face Democrat Jamie Hough in the November general election. Hough is unopposed on the Democratic ballot.
Licking County Commissioner
There is only one contested race in the primary among all Licking County offices.
Democrats Bryn Byrd, of Granville, and Daniel Crawford, of Newark, will compete for their party's nomination. The winner will face Republican incumbent Duane H. Flowers, of Newark, in the general election.
Local municipal and school issues
County Line Joint Fire District (serves Utica Village and Washington Township in Licking County and Morgan Township in Knox County): Proposed additional tax of 6.5 mills for five years to fund fire protection and emergency medical services. A current tax of more than 4 mills would be eliminated, the district's chief recently explained.
Village of Hartford: Additional property tax of 2.9 mills for a period of five years for police department operating expenses.
Hanover Township: 1-mill replacement property tax for five years for fire and EMS.
Hartford Township: Additional property tax of 2.5 mills for five years for fire and EMS.
Jersey Township: Proposed resolution allow sale of beer and alcohol on all days of the week, including Sunday, at the Jersey Township Revitalization District, community facility.
St. Albans Township: Additional, continuing property tax of 10 mills for fire and EMS.
Heath City School District seeks a property tax levy of 5.3 mills to cover a bond issue for 37 years to construct school facilities AND an additional, continuing property tax of 4.75 mills for land acquisition, construction, enlargement and renovation of school facilities and financing permanent improvements.
North Fork Local School District (overlaps into Knox County) seeks a property tax of 7.1 mills to fund a $58 million bond issue of 37 years for acquiring land and constructing school facilities — including a new middle school building — and renovating, improving and expanding existing school facilities as well as equipping those facilities.
Note: Granville village withdrew from the ballot a proposed issue question on whether to allow liquor sales on Sundays.
How can I see everything that is on my primary ballot?
You must be a registered voter as of Feb. 20 to vote in the March primary. To see everything that is on your individual ballot, go to the Licking County Board of Elections website.
What are the key dates for the Ohio primary election?
March 12: Deadline for absentee ballot applications.
March 18: Absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by this day.
March 19: Election Day.
March 23: Absentee ballots mailed on or before March 18 must arrive at boards of elections by this day to be counted.
How to vote by mail
You can get an application to request an absentee mail-in ballot one of two ways: Ask your board of elections to mail you one, or download the application online. You can request an absentee ballot for the March primary until close of business on March 12.
To cast a ballot by mail, voters must provide a copy of their photo ID, driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
Completed ballots must be postmarked by March 18 and received by boards of elections no later than March 23 to be counted. If you don't mail your ballot in time, you can take it to your local board of elections before polls close on Election Day.
How to vote early in-person
Licking County residents can vote early at the Board of Elections office, 20 S. Second St., in downtown Newark.
Early in-person voting hours across Ohio for the March primary are:
February 21-23: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
February 26 - March 1: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
March 4-8: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
March 9: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
March 11: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
March 12: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
March 13-15: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
March 16: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
March 17: 1-5:00 p.m.
Per the new voting law, Ohio no longer offers early in-person voting on the Monday before the election (March 18).
What kind of ID do I need to vote in person?
Ohio now requires voters to show a photo ID when they cast in-person ballots, either early or on Election Day. The ID must be unexpired, but it doesn't need to have your current address on it. Other documents, such as utility bills and bank statements, are no longer accepted.
The following documents qualify:
Ohio driver's license
Ohio state ID
U.S. passport or passport card
U.S. Military ID, Ohio National Guard ID or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID
Interim identification issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Free state IDs are available to residents at BMV deputy registrar locations. More information can be found at bmv.ohio.gov.
What if I forget my ID?
If you don't have your ID or run into other problems at the polls on Election Day, you can cast a provisional ballot.
Voters have four days to provide any missing information to election officials. Boards of elections have until eight days after the election to determine which provisional ballots can be counted.
Are ballot drop boxes available?
Yes. Each county has a drop box set up at the board of elections. You can bring your completed absentee ballot there any time before polls close on Election Day. All drop boxes are monitored by video surveillance.
How to vote on primary Election Day in Ohio
Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. You can find your polling place at voteohio.gov.
Haley BeMiller, a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which includes The Columbus Dispatch, contributed to this report.
@kmallett1958
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What's on the primary ballot in Licking County? Here's a quick summary
