Overview: The November ballot is packed
Richland County Board of Elections officials are predicting voter turnout of between 60 and 70 percent.
MANSFIELD — Don’t tell Matt Finfgeld and Jane Zimmermann that 2023 is an “off-year” election.
The two leaders of the Richland County Board of Elections sure don’t see it that way.
In fact, given a stacked local ballot of candidates and issues — and the likelihood of a statewide constitutional issue on abortion rights and a statute on recreational marijuana — the Nov. 7 election may look like a presidential election year in terms of voter participation.
(Check PDF files at the end of this story to see a complete list of candidates and issues.)
The filing deadline for candidates and issues was Wednesday. The deadline to file as a write-in candidate is Aug. 28, though those names will not actually appear on the ballot.
“It’s great … awesome … we don’t usually see so much competition,” said Finfgeld, the local board of elections director.
“Yes, it’s considered an ‘off-year’ election. But that is not the way Jane (the deputy director) and I are looking at it. With everything on this ballot, it’s looking more like a (presidential) election year,” Finfgeld said.
“I am going to say at least 60 percent voter turnout, if not close to 70. Jane and I both agree on that,” he said. “I think the issues and the candidates will drive people to vote who haven’t voted since 2020 or never even voted at all.”
During the 2020 presidential election, 72.9 percent of Richland County voters participated, up from even 2016 when 68.4 percent cast ballots. During the gubernatorial election cycle in 2022, 51.98 percent took part.
Richland County has not seen anything approaching those numbers during “off-year” elections for more than a decade. In fact, less than half of eligible voters have taken part.
In 2019, for example, just 25.77 percent voted. It was 45.82 in 2015, 46.99 in 2011 and 33.93 in 2007.
The list of candidates across Richland County is 23 pages long with contested races all over the county, from mayors to township fiscal officers and judges to school board members.
There are two countywide tax issues; school bond and tax levy issues; and proposed village charter amendments. It’s like a buffet lunch — something for every hungry voter.
Finfgeld, Zimmermann and their staff have a lot of work to do between now and Nov. 7. The bipartisan, four-member Board of Elections meets on Wednesday to certify petitions and also consider provisional ballots from the Aug. 8 special election.
The local ballot must then be composed in time to begin testing voting machines on Sept. 18.
(Click below to download files with candidate races and issues questions that will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.)
As a community development group committed to growing Mansfield, NECIC sees civic engagement as vital for a healthy community. Rooted in the North End, their efforts benefit North Central Ohio and beyond. They promote informed voter turnout for a thriving society. Explore at www.necic-ohio.org.
