Record Turnout Marks General Election
by Bruce Yarnall, Barnesville Area News Company
Noble County recorded the highest voter turnout in the greater Barnesville area with 76.44 percent of registered voters casting ballots. Monroe County was a close second with 72.97 percent followed by Guernsey County at 71.27 percent and Belmont County at 69.45 percent.
A 21st century trend of absentee voting was very strong in the four counties. Belmont County ballots cast absentee was 49.5% of the total vote. Guernsey County registered the highest in person election day vote at 55% followed by Monroe County with 52 percent. Noble County was the only county to register more absentee ballots with 51.5% of voters choosing that method.
Statewide, Republicans claimed victory over the citizen-initiated redistricting amendment that failed with 54 percent voting against the measure and 46 percent for it.
Ohio‘s long serving U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, was defeated by political newcomer, Bernie Morino, a Cleveland area auto dealer.
Republicans also claimed victory for all but one contested race in the four counties. In Monroe County, unaffiliated Derek Norman won the Sheriff’s race over Matthew Tippie, the Republican.
The only contested race in Belmont County saw incumbent County Coroner Amanda Fisher (R) beat former Coroner Troy Balgo, 21,781 to 56,455.
For the most part renewal levies or those sporting reduced millage received voter approval. The same cannot be said about new levy efforts that.
The only renewal levies to fail were in Fairview and Oxford Township in Guernsey County. A renewal levy of 1.0 mill for cemeteries in the township failed 151-142 and a current expenses levy for the village of 4.7 mills failed 10-9.
In Belmont County, additional tax requests by the villages of Belmont and Bethesda failed. Belmont proposed a 3.5 mill tax for operating expenses for the police department and cemetery for a continuing period. It failed 139-62 while the Bethesda measure was intended to singularly support the police department. That 1.5 mill levy was turned down 328- 206.
The Union Local School’s second attempt to gain voter approval for the district also failed. The reduced ask failed 3,208-1,272.
In Monroe County, Sunsbury Township’s proposed 2 mill levy for “current expenses” lost 320-263.
