ATHENS — Early voting is under way in Athens County, where residents are casting ballots at the Board of Elections office at 15 S. Court St. in Athens ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election. It is the county’s single early-voting location for a ballot that runs from statewide offices down to village levies; neighborhood precincts do not open until Election Day.
The one question before every voter in the county is the proposed additional 1-mill tax levy for the Athens City-County Health Department. The official ballot language estimates it will collect $1,520,051 a year, at a cost of $35 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value, for 10 years beginning in 2027.
School funding is on the ballot in two districts: both Alexander Local Schools and Athens City Schools are asking their voters to approve income tax proposals. Voters in those districts will see the exact language on their own sample ballots, which the Board of Elections posts online by district type.
One judgeship gives Athens County voters an unusual story. Athens Municipal Court Judge Todd L. Grace, a Democrat, faces Pickaway County Prosecutor Jayme Fountain for a seat on Ohio’s Fourth District Court of Appeals — a pairing set only after Judge Peter B. Abele, who held the seat for 36 years, died Sept. 25. Grace, in his 11th year on the municipal bench, was chosen by Democratic leaders from the district’s 14 counties to fill the ballot vacancy; the district stretches across southern Ohio, including Athens, Adams, Ross, Scioto and Washington counties.
Below the countywide questions, dozens of community levies fill out the ballot. Albany asks for an additional 3-mill street levy expected to raise more than $63,000 a year; Buchtel seeks an additional 5-mill levy for current expenses; Jacksonville voters decide fire-protection and local-expense renewals; and townships from Alexander to York weigh fire, road, cemetery and EMS questions — most of them five-year renewals. Nelsonville’s second precinct also votes on a Sunday liquor option for The Mine Tavern.
Athens County voters will also help decide Ohio’s statewide contests — governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, two Ohio Supreme Court seats and a U.S. Senate seat — plus statewide Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment on photo-identification requirements for voting.
Early in-person hours follow the uniform statewide schedule: Oct. 19-23, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 24, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The final week stretches longer — Oct. 26 and Oct. 28-30 run 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 27 runs 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Oct. 31 is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and the last early session is Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
Voters voting by mail face firm deadlines. Absentee applications must reach the board by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and a voted ballot must be received by the board — or placed in its drop box — by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, to count; a postmark no longer saves a late ballot, with a limited exception for military and overseas voters. In-person voters must present a valid, unexpired photo ID, and polls on Nov. 3 are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Athens County is the fifth stop in NewsForce247’s county-by-county look at the Nov. 3 election across all 88 Ohio counties.
