NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Turnout has been steady for the first week of early voting for the Nov. 5 general election in Tuscarawas County.
As of Tuesday, 1,945 residents have cast in-person ballots at the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections office at the courthouse, according to Gail Garbrandt, elections director.
Contested races: Tuscarawas County commissioner race: Mitch Pace touts youth; Kent Watson, experience
“We’re pleased with the turnout,” she said. On Oct. 8, the first day of early voting, 358 people cast ballots. On the second day, 375 people voted.
There has generally been a line to vote each day, but the lines are short, she said. They tend to get a little longer at lunchtime.
Garbrandt encouraged voters to read the language for State Issue 1 before coming to cast a ballot. Issue 1 is a constitutional amendment to remove politicians from drawing congressional and statehouse maps and replace them with a 15-member citizen commission. She said the ballot language is long and would take a voter 15 to 20 minutes to read.
Reading the language beforehand would save people time, she said.
Early voting hours
For the first two weeks of early voting, hours at the board office will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The third week, Oct. 21-25, hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The office will also be open on two Saturdays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and two Sundays, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, from 1 to 5 p.m.
The final week, Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, the office will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the exception of Tuesday, Oct. 29, which is the last day to request an absentee ballot. Hours that day will be 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 4.
Voters will use the North Broadway entrance to cast a ballot.
The polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Days.
Local races, tax levies
In addition to state and federal contests, there are two local contested races on the ballot in Tuscarawas County. Republican Mitch Pace and Democrat Kent A. Watson are running for county commissioner, and Democrat David DiDonato and Republican Lori Gardner are running for recorder.
There are several tax levies on the ballot, including a $72 million bond issue for 37 years and 1 mill property tax that, if passed, would enable New Philadelphia City Schools to build a new elementary school.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Tuscarawas County election officials pleased with early voting turnout
