Area residents made sure their voices were heard Tuesday — and when all of the talk and all of the sometimes-heated rhetoric finally cleared, there was little doubt left on where they stand.

According to the unofficial results from the Jefferson County Board of Elections, 31,209 of the county’s 45,726 registered voters cast ballots. That’s a turnout of 68.25 percent, which shows that area residents took a great interest in having a say in who will hold public offices and how much they will pay in taxes.

It’s a number that’s just a little bit shy of the state turnout of 69.69 percent. According to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, 5,686,302 of Ohio’s 8,159,946 registered voters cast ballots. That number could change, but not significantly — as of Wednesday, there still were 220,046 outstanding provisional and absentee ballots across the state.

Turnout was high across our region. In Carroll County, 13,719, or 74.86 percent, of the 18,326 registered voters cast ballots. In Columbiana County, 47,980, or 72.72 percent, of the 65,979 registered voters cast ballots. Harrison County’s numbers were high, as well, with 7,080, or 71.59 percent, of the 9,890 registered voters casting ballots. And in Belmont County, with 30,995, or 69.45 percent, of the 44,627 registered voters casting ballots.

Local residents also did a good job of returning their absentee ballots — according to the secretary of state, as of Wednesday, there were 306 outstanding absentee ballots in Jefferson County, 107 in Carroll County, 445 in Columbiana County, 318 in Belmont County and 64 in Harrison County.

In the presidential race on the state level, it was no surprise that Donald Trump won. What was a little unexpected was his margin of victory — 55.23 percent to 43.88 percent for Kamala Harris. It was a percentage that is a little higher than the 52 percent it seems likely he was going to get nationally while winning the popular vote, as well as claiming a big win in the Electoral College. That big vote for Trump in Ohio likely had an impact in Republican Bernie Moreno’s win over longtime Democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown.

Moreno won with 2,803,634 votes, or 50.19 percent. Brown collected 2,592,539 votes, or 46.42 percent. Libertarian Don Kissick earned 189,377 votes, or 3.39 percent. Across our region, Moreno was a solid winner, finishing first in Jefferson County with 64.27 percent of the vote, Harrison County with 69.1 percent of the vote, Belmont County with 65.49 percent of the vote, Columbiana County with 66.6 percent of the vote and Carroll County with 69.79 percent of the vote.

State Issue 1, which would have created an appointed redistricting committee, was defeated by a 7-point margin — 53 percent of voters across the state voted against the measure. Residents in our region voted against the measure in even greater numbers, with 65.7 percent of the voters in Jefferson County saying no, 71.84 percent in Carroll County saying no, 67.28 percent in Belmont County saying no, 70.06 percent in Columbiana County saying no and 71.61 percent in Harrison County saying no.

There also was little drama in the race for the 6th District seat in Congress — Republican Michael Rulli earned a full term by defeating Democrat Michael Kripchak by earning 66.7 percent, or 242,189, of the 362,927 votes that were cast. He collected 69.12 percent of the total vote in Jefferson County. His sweep of every county in the district included winning 74.94 percent of the votes cast in Harrison County. Kripchak did best in Mahoning County, which Rulli carried with 57.49 percent of the vote.

It was the same in the race for the state Senate seat in Ohio’s 30th District. Republican Brian Chavez defeated Democrat Iva Faber with 69.42 percent of the vote. Chavez collected 70.6 percent of the vote in Jefferson County and did even better in Harrison County, where he got 76.29 percent of the vote. Faber won only Athens County, with 56 percent of the vote.

There were only three contested races in Jefferson County. Republican Tony Morelli was re-elected to his seat on the Jefferson County commissioners by defeating Democrat Todd Mazzaferro with 68.81 percent of the votes cast. Morelli finished first in 62 of the county’s 64 precincts, with Mazzaferro getting the most votes in Steubenville 1-2 and Steubenville 4-1.

Republican Ron “Jake” Kleineke defeated Democrat Charlie Newburn with 69.03 percent of the votes cast. That means Kleineke will replace Dave Maple, who chose not to seek re-election, on the board. Kleineke also finished on top in 62 of the 64 precincts, with Newburn getting more votes in Steubenville 1-2 and Steubenville 4-1.

And, Republican Andrew Plesich earned another four years as the county’s clerk of courts by defeating Democrat Candy Newburn with 69.88 percent of the vote. Plesich also finished on top in 62 of the 64 counties, the exceptions being Steubenville 1-2 and Steubenville 4-1.

While the Republicans had a good day in the county, the region, the state and the nation, it’s interesting to note that the majority of Jefferson County voters are not affiliated with any party. According to the board of elections, of the 42,726 registered voters in the county, 32,831 are listed as no party, with 8,980 registered as Republicans and 3,915 registered as Democrats.

In Harrison County, the board of elections reports that 6,233 of the 9,890 registered voters are listed as no party, with 2,850 listed as Republicans and 80 listed as Democrats. In Belmont County, 30,590 of the 44,627 registered voters are listed as no party, with 10,534 listed as Republicans and 3,503 listed as Democrats.

In Carroll County, 12,151 of the 18,326 registered voters are listed as no party, with 4,992 listed as Republicans and 1,183 listed as Democrats. And in Columbiana County, 44,658 of the 65,979 registered voters are listed as no party, with 17,113 listed as Republicans and 4,208 listed as Democrats.

Presidential elections, especially those that attract the type of interest the campaign we have just gone through have, always tend to get the most attention. And, while it’s important to vote for president, remember that there are candidates and issues that directly touch our lives in every election. That’s why it’s important to be involved — make sure you learn about the candidates and issues, that you are registered and that you vote.

And, if you are the type of voter who is only interested in the presidential races, keep in mind that Nov. 7, 2028, is really not that far off.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)