Early voting begins for Ohio's primary election. What's on the ballot in Franklin County?
Early in-person and absentee ballot voting for the March 19 primary election begins Wednesday in Ohio.
Besides the key statewide races for U.S. President and U.S. Senate, there are also U.S. House and a number of state Senate and House seats, Ohio Supreme Court justices, and countywide offices on the ballot. In addition, there may be some local municipal and school levy issues on your ballot, depending on where you live.
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.
Here is a quick rundown of contested candidate races on Franklin County ballots — not including races for county or state party committee posts — followed by local issues voters in certain municipalities and school districts will face. (The issues listings do not include requests for local alcohol sales as 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?
U.S. House
15th Congressional District: Democrats Zerqa Z. Abid and Adam Miller are competing in the primary to see who will face unopposed incumbent Republican Mike Carey in November.
Ohio House
3rd House District: Three Democrats are competing for the party nomination: Abdirizak Diini, Ismail Mohamed and Julie Trabold. No Republicans are on the primary ballot.
5th House District: Three Democrats — Marco Miller, Meredith Lawson-Row and Leo Almeida — are competing for their party's nomination to replace incumbent Richard Brown, who is running for a judgeship on Franklin County Common Pleas Court. There are no Republican candidates on the ballot.
6th House District: Seven Democrats — Brandon Barcus, Patrick Barnacle, Eli Bohnert, Christine Cockley, Adhanet Kifle, Kawther Mussa and Elijah Williams — are competing to see who will face unopposed Republican Hussein Jabiri in November.
10th House District: Democrats Sarah C. Pomero and Mark Sigrist are competing for their party's nomination, while Republicans Brian M. Garvine and Shafi Shafat are competing for their party's nomination. Although Republican David A. Dobos' name will also appear on the GOP ballot, he has officially withdrawn as a candidate, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections.
12th House District: Democrats Patty Hamilton and Brian Stewart are battling in the primary to determine who faces Brad W. Cotton, the unopposed Republican candidate, in November.
Ohio Supreme Court
In the only contested primary race among the threes 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.
Franklin County
Prosecutor
In an historic race, three Black attorneys are vying to replace retiring Democrat Gary Tyack. They are: Delaware City Attorney Natalia Harris, who lives in Columbus; Columbus City Council member Shayla Favor, a former assistant city attorney; and Anthony Pierson, deputy chief counsel in Tyack's office. At the request of the Columbus NAACP and others, the Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee chose not to endorse from among the three candidates, despite Tyack's support for Pierson.
The Democratic winner will face the lone Republican on the primary ballot, John P.M. Rutan, in November.
More: Franklin County prosecutor candidates debate over handling of officer cases, murder backlog
Common Pleas Court
Only one of nine Franklin County Common Pleas Court judgeships on the ballot is contested in the primary. State Rep. Richard Brown, who is not seeking reelection to his Ohio 5th House District seat, is running against Stephanie Hanna, a staff attorney in Common Pleas Court.
Local municipal and school issues
How can I learn my property's appraised value for tax purposes?
City of Grandview Heights: Proposed renewal of a property tax levy of 7.5 mills for four years beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $142 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
Village of Valleyview: Proposed additional property tax levy of 5 mills for current expenses, which will begin in 2024 and run for five years. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $175 for each $100,000 of county appraised value.
Clinton Township: Proposed additional continuing police levy of 6 mills beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $210 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value,
Mifflin Township: Proposed continuing replacement levy of 8.8 mills for expenses for the police district beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $308 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
Norwich Township: Proposed additional, continuing levy of 4.9 mills for fire and EMS services beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $172 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
Perry Township: Proposed addtional, continuing levy of 8.51 mills for police services beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay $298 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, continuing period of time, commencing in 2024
Pleasant Township: Proposed additional levy of 4 mills for fire services beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners will pay, $140 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
Teays Valley School District (includes part of Frankin County) Proposed bond issue of $96,515,000 for school building improvements and requiring a property tax levy of 5.33 mills for 37 years beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners in the school district will pay $187 for each $100,000 of their county auditor’s appraised value.
Madison-Plains Local School District (includes part of Franklin County) Proposed bond issue of more than $55,360,775 for match with Ohio School Facilities Commission funds for school building improvements and requiring a property tax levy of 5.4 mills for 37 years beginning in 2024. If approved by voters, property owners in the school district will pay, $189 for each $100,000 of their county auditor’s appraised value.
Olentangy Local School District (includes part of Franklin County) is seeking voter approval of a bond issue and levies package under one ballot question to finance construction of new schools, expansion and improvements of existing schools, and additional funding for operating expenses to deal with anticipated student growth of about 5,000 students over the next 10 years. This package includes:
A proposed bond issue of $350,000,000 requiring a property tax levy of 2.72 mills for 37 years beginning in 2024 to be used for acquiring land and constructing, furnishing, and equipping new elementary schools, a new middle school, and a new high school as well as renovating, furnishing, and equipping existing facilities. If approved by voters, the measure will pay the debt charges on the bonds and property owners will pay $95 for each $100,000 of their county auditor's appraised value.
An additional continuing property tax of 1.25 mills to provide funds for the acquisition, construction, enlargement, renovation, and financing of permanent improvements that will generate an estimated $8,482,000 annually. If approved by voters, this will cost property owners $44 for each $100,000 of their county auditor's appraised value.
An additional, continuing 3-mill property tax to pay current operating expenses that will generate an additional $20,357,000 annually. If approved by voters, this will cost property owners $105 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value.
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 Franklin County Board of Elections website and click on "Sample Ballot" on the home page. Enter your name, address, and other information, click "search" and it will provide you with your ballot.
What are the key dates for the Ohio primary election?
.Feb. 21: Early in-person voting begins.
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 a 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
Ohioans can vote early at their county's designated location, which is almost always your county board of elections. Visit voteohio.gov to find your county's early voting spot.
Early in-person voting hours for the March primary are:
February 21-23: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
February 26 - March 1: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
March 4-8: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
March 9: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
March 11: 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
March 12: 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
March 13-15: 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
March 16: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
March 17: 1:00 p.m. - 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.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What's on the primary ballot in Franklin County? Here is a roundup
