Do homework before voting in primary

If you’re an adult in Northeast Ohio who’s looking forward to St. Patrick’s Day, hopefully your plans will include more than drinking green beer and eating corned beef.

After all, March 17 is not only St. Patrick’s Day in the Buckeye State this year. It’s also the day of Ohio’s presidential primary election.

Now that we’ve mentioned the election, here’s a question we’d like to ask all registered voters: Have you done the research that’s needed to make informed choices about candidates, questions and issues that appear on the March 17 ballot?

Hopefully, you answered “Yes,” but if not, we’re urging you to do your homework.

After all, the choices you make will have an impact not only on who will lead our governmental entities, but also how your tax dollars are distributed and spent.

While president of the United States is the highest profile office in the primary election, you’ll only need to choose between candidates if you request a Democratic ballot. That’s because President Donald Trump is running unopposed.

So for Democratic voters, your choice essentially boils down to two presidential candidates: Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders. Since there is a plethora of website and news-media information on the race for president, we’ll keep it brief and encourage you to explore each candidate’s background and position on issues from sources you consider to be credible.

As for local or regional candidate races in Lake or Geauga counties, there are a variety of contested primaries.

In the Lake County Republican primary, incumbent Lake County Recorder Becky Lynch is facing a challenge from Painesville Township Trustee Gabe Cicconetti. Former recorder Ann M. Radcliffe, who lost her position to Lynch in November 2016, is running unopposed on the Democratic side.

Meanwhile, in Geauga County, Sheriff Scott A. Hildenbrand is squaring off in the Republican primary against Newbury Township resident Jimmy Lee Holden. No Democrats have filed.

When it comes to local candidate races, we have some suggestions on how to conduct research on the people who want to represent you as elected office holders.

First of all, most local political candidates these days have their own websites, so that’s a good starting point. In contested races, survey the websites of each candidate, to compare their stances on the issues — and to see what they might say about their opponent.

In addition, be sure to check The News-Herald’s website or print editions regularly, as we strive to write election preview stories on all contested local races. These stories will give a side-by-side look at the candidates in the same article, regarding their qualifications and what they consider their top priorities.

As the primary season goes down the homestretch over the next few weeks, watch your mailbox for informational fliers and postcards, and look for doorknob-hanger cards from the candidates.

Also, don’t be surprised if you hear a knock at your door and it’s one of the political hopefuls, eager to request your vote. If you happen to open the door and meet a candidate, don’t be afraid to ask them questions about where they stand on the issues.

The ballot for the March 17 primary also includes questions and issues for voters, especially requests for approval to use your tax dollars.

For example, Willoughby-Eastlake Schools is seeking passage of a 4.9-mill, 10year emergency operating levy that would generate $8.5 million annually. If approved, the levy will cost property owners $172.90 annually per $100,000 in residential property valuation, according to the Lake County Auditor’s Office.

With levy issues, it is important to know if it’s a renewal issue, in which case taxpayers will continue paying the same amount in taxes for a fixed number of years, or an additional levy, which would bring new money to a government entity, along with higher taxes for property owners. If there’s a levy in your community, seek to understand what the money will be used for and what it will cost you as a taxpayer.

Once again, we encourage all voters to educate themselves regarding what they’ll be voting on in the March 17 primary election. Clearly, for some of the votes you cast, the impact of your decision could last a lot longer than a hangover from too much St. Patty’s Day beer.

As for local or regional candidate races in Lake or Geauga counties, there are a variety of contested primaries.