Primary election day arrives in Shelby
Months of political campaigning were coming to a conclusion on Tuesday, May 3 as voters in Shelby, Richland County, and Ohio were going to the polls to participate in the state's primary election.
Multiple offices were on the Ohio ballot, including for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, the governor's office, other state constitutional offices such as secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, and treasurer. Ohio Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, other judicial and some county elected offices also were among those on the primary ballot. (Not all primary candidates faced contested contests).
Winners advance to the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
Several voting locations were available in Shelby for the May 3 primary.
Polls were opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m.
Voters can find their voting locations through a web link from the Richland County Board of Elections. A shortened link is available at https://bit.ly/3io1zai
In the Shelby area, the voting locations for the May 3 primary were detailed by the Richland County Board of Elections:
* Shelby 1-A: Shelby Senior Center, 154 N Gamble St.
* Shelby 1-B: Shelby Senior Center, 154 N Gamble St.
* Shelby 2-A: First United Methodist Church, 18 S. Gamble St. (use entrance at rear of church)
* Shelby 2-B: First United Methodist Church, 18 S. Gamble St. (use entrance at rear of church)
* Shelby 3-A: Shelby Alliance Church 105, E. Smiley Ave.
* Shelby 3-B: Shelby Alliance Church 105, E. Smiley Ave.
* Shelby 4-A: Awake Church, 3616 State Route 39
* Shelby 4-B: Awake Church, 3616 State Route
* Jackson Township-a: Jackson Twp Hall, 3761 Plymouthspringmill Road.
* Jackson Township-b: Jackson Twp Hall, 3761 Plymouthspringmill Road.
* Sharon Township: Sharon Township Garage, 5141 State Route 61 South
Besides candidates, issues such as school levies were also on the ballot in various locations around Richland County though not in the city of Shelby.
Early voting for the May 3 primary began April 5 in Ohio and in Richland County was at the Longview Center in Mansfield.
On April 26, Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose announced that statewide, 182,496 absentee ballots had been requested by mail or in-person and that 100,809 votes have been cast statewide as of April 22.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office provided data that it said was collected through an informal survey of the state’s 88 county boards of elections. The data showed that statewide:
* Ballots requested: Democratic, 87,693; Republican, 91,365; non-partisan 3,438
* Ballots cast early in-person: Democratic, 19,789; Republican, 25,099; nonpartisan, 754
* Total ballots returned and submitted for counting: Democratic,
47,558; Republican, 51,332; nonpartisan, 1,919
"As I've visited county boards of elections this month (April) during early voting and spoken with voters, what I've seen firsthand are the high standards of accessibility and security which make our state a national model," Larose said in a statement released by his office.
"From Joe and Susan in Knox County who came out of their board of elections wearing their "I Voted" stickers, to my fellow military members casting their ballots from around the world, to those Ohioans who make their voice heard each year on Election Day, Ohio election officials deliver integrity to our elections and customer service to voters with each ballot cast," Larose said.
In its announcement, the Ohio Secretary of State's office said that this primary election season:
* Ohio voters were offered nearly 200 hours of early voting in the
May 3 primary
* Ohio is one of 18 states that allows voting on a Saturday and one of just six states that allows early voting on a Sunday
* Ohio’s early voting period is 21 percent longer than the national average
Some offices are not on the Tuesday, May 3 ballot.
"On March 16, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio invalidated the
Ohio General Assembly district plan adopted on February 24, 2022," the Richland County Board of Elections reported on its website. "Therefore, the offices of Ohio House, Ohio Senate and State Central Committee will not appear on the May 3, 2022 Primary Election ballot."
"Voter district information for Ohio House, Ohio Senate, and State Central Committee will be updated as soon as that information is available," the message stated.
An August primary is being proposed for those offices. No decision has been made, and any formal announcement is pending.
The latest information on the Tuesday, May 3 primary election is available on the Richland County Board of Elections website at https://www. boe.ohio.gov/richland