By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Soon it will be Ohioans’ turn to pick their favored candidates for this fall’s presidential election.
In the March 15 primary election, local voters will help narrow down the field of candidates. Some voters get on board with their true favorite candidate, while some use their votes to derail the opposition.
Whatever the case, voters in Wood County can choose the ballots they cast without being challenged by poll workers, according to Terry Burton, director of the Wood County Board of Elections.
“They can pick any ballot they wish,” be it Green Party, Democratic, Republican or just an issues ballot, Burton said.
In previous years, citizens with histories of voting with a certain party in primary elections were sometimes questioned when they wanted to switch parties for a primary ballot. Those voters were sometimes asked to sign a form stating they wished to align themselves with a different party.
That all changed a few years ago, Burton said, when the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office under Jennifer Brunner redefined the rules. Poll workers were no longer to ask voters to sign those forms unless they had reason to believe a voter was being untruthful.
“We told our poll workers to no longer use that form,” Burton said.
But some counties in Ohio still question voters who wish to switch, Burton added.
“There are some counties that still use that form,” in instances when poll workers believe voters should have to declare their allegiance when switching parties. “We tell our poll workers to let people use whatever ballot they want to vote. That should be the end of the conversation.”
There are rare circumstances when official poll observers, assigned to certain precincts, can challenge voters. “That’s not something we see very often,” Burton said.
Early voting for the primary is underway in Ohio, but so far it hasn’t generated a lot of interest in comparison to the previous presidential primary, according to Burton.
“I will tell you, our early voting requests are down,” he said. That could be because so much of the focus has been on earlier primaries in other states. “Since we haven’t really seen the campaigns move into the area, the interest has been minimal.”
Citizens voting Republican in the primary will notice that the field of presidential candidates includes names of those who have dropped out of the race. However, only one of those, Rand Paul, officially withdrew his name from Ohio ballots, Burton said.
Also, Burton pointed out that Republican voters will get to vote twice for a presidential candidate, once for delegates-at-large for the national convention, and once for district delegates to the national convention.
Following it a list of all the candidates and issues appearing on the primary ballots in Wood County:
Democratic ballot
President (delegates-at-large and alternates-at-large to national convention)
- Hillary Clinton
- Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente
- Bernie Sanders
United State Senate
- Kelli Prather
- G. Sittenfeld
- Ted Strickland
Fifth U.S. Congressional District
- James Neu Jr.
Justice of Ohio Supreme Court
- John P. O’Donnell
Justice of Ohio Supreme Court
- Cynthia Rice
Second Ohio Senate District
- Kirk W. Halliday, Vermillion
Third Ohio House District
- David Walters, Bowling Green
Sixth District Court of Appeals
- Jack R. Puffenberger
Sixth District Court of Appeals
- Mark L. Pietrykowski
Wood County Common Pleas Judge
- Steve Long, Perrysburg
Wood County Commissioner (term commencing 1/2/2017)
- Edward A. Kolanko, Walbridge
Wood County Commissioner (term commencing 1/3/2017)
- Joel M. Kuhlman, Bowling Green
Wood County Recorder
- Julie L. Baumgardner, Weston
Wood County Sheriff
- Ruth J. Babel-Smith, Bowling Green (write-in)
Wood County Treasurer
- Jason Hartigan, Perrysburg
Green Party ballot
United States Senate
- Joseph R. DeMare
Republican ballot
President (delegates-at-large and alternates-at-large to national convention and again for district delegates and district alternates)
- Jeb Bush
- Ben Carson
- Chris Christie
- Ted Cruz
- Carly Fiorina
- Mike Huckabee
- John R. Kasich
- Marco Rubio
- Rick Santorum
- Donald J. Trump
United States Senate
- Don Elijah Eckhart
- Rob Portman
United States Congress
- Bob Latta
Chief Justice of Ohio Supreme Court
- Maureen O’Connor
Justice of Ohio Supreme Court
- Pat Fischer
- Colleen Mary O’Toole
Justice of Ohio Supreme Court
- Pat DeWine
Second Ohio Senate District
- Randy Gardner, Bowling Green
Third Ohio House District
- Tim W. Brown, Bowling Green
Wood County Common Pleas Judge
- Matthew L. Reger, Bowling Green
- Corey J. Speweik, Bowling Green
Wood County Commissioner (term commencing 1/2/2017)
- Craig LaHote, Perrysburg
Wood County Commissioner (term commencing 1/3/2017)
- Ted Bowlus, Pemberville
Wood County Clerk of Common Pleas Court
- Cindy A. Hofner, Bowling Green
Wood County Coroner
- Douglas W. Hess, North Baltimore
Wood County Engineer
- John M. Musteric, Perrysburg.
Wood County Prosecuting Attorney
- Paul A. Dobson, Bowling Green
Wood County Sheriff
- Mark Wasylyshyn, Bowling Green
Wood County Treasurer
- Jane A. Spoerl, Weston
Issues on Wood County ballots
- Perrysburg Way Library, renewal 1.5 mills with increase of 0.4 mills, for total of 1.9 mills, for four years.
- Grand Rapids Township, replacement 2-mill levy for five years, for fire protection.
- Eastwood Local School District, renewal of 1 percent income tax, for five years, for current expenses.
- Sunday sales of liquor at BG Eagles.
- Sunday sales of liquor at Billy Vs in Rossford.
