COLUMBUS – Franklin County voters approved tax issues for mental health services and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium by wide margins.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
A 0.75-mil 10-year renewal levy for the zoo was approved by a 76-24 percent margin and a 5-year 2.2-mill levy to support the mental health, alcohol and drug addiction programs of the county Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board was passed by a 74-26 percent margin.
A light turnout was forecast and it proved true as unofficial vote totals show 295,077 voters, 35.5 percent of those registered, went to the polls, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections.
The statewide turnout exceeded expectations as approximately 42 percent of voters headed to the polls, casting a total of 3.2 million ballots, according to Secretary of State Jon Husted, who had predicted a turnout of about 30 percent.