COLUMBUS – Don’t expect long lines at the polling places next Tuesday.
The state’s elections chief says roughly 149,000 Ohioans have cast ballots ahead of the election and more than 328,000 absentee ballots have been requested. Voters may request an absentee ballot until noon on Saturday and early, in-person voting is available through Monday, Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office said.
Husted says he expects more absentee ballots than in 2013, when there were no statewide questions before voters — but about half of those in 2011 — when a statewide issue repealed a bill limiting collective bargaining for public employees. He expects about a 30% turnout
Voters will decide the fate of three statewide ballot initiatives on Election Day. One would legalize marijuana for medical reasons and recreational use, while another seeks to prevent monopolies from being inserted into the state constitution. A separate measure would overhaul how state legislative districts are drawn.
In central Ohio, voters will decide who will be the next mayor of Columbus mayoral race, as well as the fate of a 10-year, 0.75 mill-levy to support the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
The levy will not increase taxes, said Tom Stalf, the zoo’s president and chief executive officer.
The tax would continue to cost Franklin County homeowners $21 a year per $100,000 of property value, and would bring in about $18.9 million a year, a quarter of the zoo’s annual budget.
Voters in Franklin County are also being asked to approve a levy supporting the services of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board.
More than 1,700 local issues also are on the ballot across the state.