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Now that just about every area school has opened for the academic year, the Jefferson County Fair has wrapped up its 155th run and teams in Ohio are completing the second week of the high school football season, we can expect to see this year’s election campaigns really begin to heat up.
That’s not really unusual. Labor Day, which this year falls on Sept. 7 and comes as late as it can, usually is when politics starts to get really exciting, especially in a year like this, when Ohio will be attracting even more attention than it normally does on the national level. Winning the state is a critical part of any scenarios the Democrats have of taking control of the Senate. They need to flip four seats while defending seats they currently hold.
That’s why the race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown will be drawing so much attention. It’s one of 35 Senate seats that will be voted on across the country, but it’s among the few that are being so closely watched.
Lost in all of the clamor might be easy for some voters to remember that the winner of the Nov. 3 vote will not be elected to a full six-year term. It’s a special election, one needed to decide who will serve out the last two years of the seat J.D. Vance won in the 2022 before stepping down to become vice president.
Husted’s looking to keep the seat Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him to in 2025, while Brown is looking to return to the Senate after being defeated by Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024.
DeWine won’t be on the ballot -- term limits keep him from running again. That will make the race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Dr. Amy Acton another contest that is closely watched around the country. The Democrats will be looking to claim that spot for the first time since the 2010 election, when Ted Strickland lost a re-election bid to Republican John Kasich.
Those statewide races at the top of this year’s ballot -- plus battles for attorney general, state auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, state Supreme Court justices and members of the 7th District Court of Appeals -- will no doubt continue to attract a lot of interest.
When you look at the county offices, though, you will find just one contested race -- the Jan. 1 Jefferson County commissioner seat, where Republican incumbent Eric Timmons is being challenged by Democrat Brent Nemeth.
Auditor E.J. Conn, a Republican, Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller, a Democrat, and probate and juvenile Judge Frank Noble Jr. are unchallenged in their re-election bids, while Mike Bednar is unchallenged in his bid to replace Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese in the Feb. 9 slot.
Other contested races on the ballot will include Salem Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli’s bid for re-election against Democrat Elizabeth Kirtley of New Philadelphia, and Wintersville Republican state Rep. Ron Ferguson’s re-election bid against Democrat Cherrie Foglio of Toronto.
Though a lot of the county races are uncontested, there’s a pretty strong probability that no matter where you live in Jefferson County, you will have the chance to vote on a property tax issue -- either a renewal or an additional tax. And, residents of Piney Fork will be asked to to approve a local option issue that will allow the Sunday sale of wine, mixed drinks or spirituous liquor at American Legion Post 525.
This election will, of course, be the most important election we have seen -- and, while it’s easy to say that, there’s always some truth to it. We’ll have the chance to choose who will lead the state for the next four years and who will represent us in Columbus and in Washington. There also will be an opportunity to elect one of the three county commissioners who will help to determine the direction the area is heading in during the next several years, as well as a chance to be heard on taxes.
All of that doesn’t mean too much if you are not registered to vote. If you haven’t completed that process, you have until 9 p.m. on Oct. 5 to do so. Ohio’s early voting will begin on Oct. 6.
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Earlier in the month, Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive that outlined the completion phase of Ohio’s 2022 General Voter Records Maintenance Plan. It is designed to ensure accurate, up-to-date voter rolls across the state. The aim of the program, which follows federal and state requirements, is to remove abandoned registrations while protecting the rights of active voter.
The program identifies potentially outdated registrations through the National Change of Address database and the supplemental process, which identifies records that have been completely inactive for six years, a release from LaRose stated.
By Sept. 11, any potentially affected voter will receive a registration readiness notice prior to cancellation. The registration can be maintained by voting, updating ot confirming their information or by responding to mailed notices, with the final cancellations happening on Jan. 27.
LaRose explained that no inactive registrations identified under the 2022 maintenance schedule will be removed before the Nov. 3 General Election.
The list of affected voters will be made public, LaRose added, and anyone who has an inactive registration removed will simply have to re-register to vote, as long as they are eligible to do so in Ohio.
Stay involved -- register to vote and when you have the chance to do so, cast your ballot.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)