ASHLAND — More than 2,000 Ashland County residents have already cast early ballots for the May 5 primary election.
As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the Ashland County Board of Elections reported 2,017 ballots cast.
Those votes were made in a variety of ways, including in-person at the board’s office, mail and curbside, among others methods.
The most popular early-voting methods were in person (1,600), by mail (283) and votes from residents in nursing homes (90). Fourteen ballots were delivered using the board’s curbside dropbox and nine were delivered by hand into the office.
Additional ballots were received via mail and email from military members stationed overseas.
According to the county board of elections website, 1,333 early Republican ballots were cast, compared to 659 Democratic, 19 non-partisan and 6 Libertarian.
Amanda Jones, director of the Ashland County Board of Elections, said Monday afternoon that this year’s early-voting numbers seem to be on par with past primary elections.
Jones said she anticipates 28 to 29 percent of registered voters will cast ballots before polls close Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
A contested GOP race for county commissioner is attracting voters to the polls, in addition to a few local tax issues, she said.
The Board of Elections has received questions in recent days asking whether or not an issue involving the elimination of property taxes will be on the ballot Tuesday.
“There has been a little bit of confusion with some petitions circulating about property taxes,” Jones said. “People will not see it (on the primary ballot).”
According to NBC 4 in Columbus, the grassroots effort to abolish property taxes in Ohio will need to double its signatures in the next two months to get on the ballot.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday
Polls open throughout Ashland County at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and remain open until 7:30 p.m. For those unsure of their polling location, a location lookup tool is accessible on the board’s website.
County residents simply need to enter their address, click search and their polling location will be displayed. Sample ballots can also be accessed by residents through a straightforward voter information search, which only requires a voter’s first and last name.
Election results can be tracked as they are periodically updated throughout Tuesday night — and sometimes into the next morning — by visiting the board’s website.
