COLUMBUS — Franklin County voters will not find a long list of shared countywide questions on the Nov. 3 ballot, but the local issues waiting for them are plentiful, from city charter overhauls to school bonds and public safety levies.
Beyond statewide Issue 3, which asks whether photo identification requirements at the polls should be written into the Ohio Constitution, nearly everything else is decided community by community.
Columbus voters face two competing charter proposals on how City Council members are elected. One, placed on the ballot by citizen petition, would limit voting for the nine district seats to residents of each district. The other, backed by council, would do the same while also adding at-large seats, eventually growing council from nine members to 13.
Gahanna has the county’s longest list, with 10 charter amendments covering everything from mayoral primaries to how often the charter is reviewed. Worthington voters will decide four charter questions, and Grove City has one amendment that would require voter approval for very large industrial projects, including data centers, above set size, water and power thresholds. Brown Township voters will weigh adopting a local zoning plan.
Levy requests are just as crowded. Several townships are seeking road, fire or police funding, and school issues include a $220 million construction bond for South-Western City Schools and operating and bond levies in Upper Arlington, alongside measures in Bexley and Pickerington and a career center renewal.
Early in-person voting is already underway and runs through Nov. 1. Mail ballot applications are due by the close of business Oct. 27, and polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3.
