Elections
This year, Ohioans will be voting on candidates seeking office for positions at the federal, state, and county level. In Clermont County, we will be voting for the following:
Federal offices
1 US Senate seat
All 15 US House seats
Ohio state offices
Ohio Governor
Ohio Attorney General
Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio Treasurer
Ohio Auditor
2 of 7 Ohio Supreme Court seats
County offices
County Commissioner
County Auditor
County Juvenile/Probate Judge
State and local issues
We could have up to 3 proposed constitutional amendments and 1 referendum to vote on in the fall—citizen groups are collecting signatures for these efforts now.
Local levies, bonds, and issues: Many Ohio communities will be voting on levies that will decide if local services will get new or continued funding through local property or income tax. Schools are the most common type of levy; public safety levies that fund policy and fire departments are also common, as are levies that fund libraries, social services, and parks.
It is important to check your voter registration status to ensure that you will be able to vote at the fall election. You can do that at the Ohio Secretary of State Voter Registration: https://voterlookup.ohiosos.gov/voterlookup.aspx
Your county Board of Elections office has sample ballots for voters to see what offices are up for election, and who the candidates are. You can learn about the candidates and issues on your ballot using the Vote411 website: www.vote411.org. Vote411 has personalized nonpartisan information about the candidates and issues on your ballot. Voters just enter their address and everything on their ballot will pop up.
Candidate forums and debates are helpful ways to learn what candidates think about different issues, and how they would act in a variety of scenarios. Going to candidate events and looking at their website will also tell you what their priorities as an elected official would be, too. All of these things can also give some clues about personality and temperament, but be sure to observe more than one of these to give you a fuller picture of the candidate’s intentions and capacities.
Your local media can also be a good source of information, especially when candidates participate in interviews. Often local papers will publish the candidates' positions and background ahead of the election, and it can be helpful to look at them side by side.
