May Election Voter Registration Deadline Nears

by Bruce Yarnall, Barnesville Area News

April 7th is the deadline to register for the May 6, 2025, Primary Election.  The Board of Elections Offices are open until 9:00 that day.

Citizens may also register to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices in Barnesville and Bridgeport, any public high school, all offices of designated agencies which provide public assistance or disability programs, public libraries and the county treasurer’s office. Register may also be made online or the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.       

Early, in-person voting then begins the next day, April 8.

Primary Election Day is May 6.   Polls will be open from 6:30 am until 7:30 pm that day.

Statewide Issue

Statewide voters will decide the fate of a single Statewide measure, State Issue Two.

Known as the “Local Public Infrastructure Bond Amendment.”   If approved, the amendment would authorize $2.5 billion for the State Capital Improvement program, which would go to local governments to help with infrastructure projects, such as road repairs.

Local State Senator Brian Chavez (R-Marieta) is one of the sponsors of the bill. Originally funded in 1987, Ohio voters renewed the program three times in 1995, 2005 and 2014.   

It has strong support from local governments as it will return money for community infrastructure and bricks and mortar projects deemed important to that community.   

Locally, Republican party voters in the village of Barnesville have one candidate to select for the November General Election for village council.

Independent candidates for village council have until May 5 to submit petitions for the General Ballot. Voters on November 4 will select four candidates to serve from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2029.

Local Issues

Voters in a few western Belmont County subdivisions will be asked to approve tax levies. They are:

Village of Belmont – A proposed one-mill, five-year property tax to care for the cemetery      

Village of Flushing – A renewal levy of one-mill, five years for fire protection

Kirkwood Township – A proposed additional one-mill, five-year property tax for cemetery care.

Last November voters in the Village of Belmont rejected a cemetery and general expenses of 3.5 mills levy. A portion of that levy was intended to for care of Belmont Cemetery.  

Similarly, an additional 1 mill levy to care for cemeteries in Kirkwood Township was narrowly rejected by voters in November.

Facsimile copies of the ballots for each Belmont County precinct are currently posted on the Belmont Board of Elections website.