MOUNT VERNON — If Knox County residents are confused about the Aug. 2 special election, it’s with good reason.
When voters head to the polls on Tuesday, they will vote on state House and Senate representatives as well as central committee candidates. Unlike in years past, they won’t all be voting in the same district.
A federal court ordered Ohio to hold a special election because the Ohio Redistricting Commission could not come up with a map the Ohio Supreme Court considered constitutional. Results from this primary election determine the candidates on November’s general election ballot.
As a result of the redistricting process, Knox County is split into two districts for the Ohio House. Depending on their address, voters are in District 61 or District 98.
There are no maps that show exactly where the dividing line is. However, voters can plug in their address on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website and find out whether they are in district 61 or 98.
“No one is happy about the split districts,” said Kathleen Tate, chair of the Knox County Democratic Party. “First, the way the maps were drawn without following the guidelines set down in the Ohio Constitution, and secondly, the way the Ohio Supreme Court decisions were totally ignored, have not endeared the state senate and governor to many Knox County voters.”
“People are confused because of the number of maps that were presented, the length of time it took to get a final map, and the back-and-forth between the legislature and the courts,” Thom Collier, chair of the Knox County Republican Party, said. “Adding a special primary for a limited number of races has added to voter confusion and disconnect.
“The confusion won’t end as this map will likely only be good for two years and could change again,” he added.
Tate and Collier differ on whether the split districts hinder the voting process.
“The voting process is being hindered because people don’t know there is an election,” Tate said. “Some even consider this to be an illegal election. Fewer poll workers are willing to put in the time to support the election.”
“It’s inconvenient and confusing for voters, but it won’t hinder the voting process, other than extremely low turnout, which is not process but participation,” Collier said. “I don’t think the map-making process will ever have full resolution. This map, and the process, has been a nightmare.
“It’s not that there aren’t fair numbers of Democrats and Republicans in Ohio, but it’s where they live geographically,” he continued. “The vast majority of Democrats live in eight of Ohio’s 88 counties. The largest majority of Republicans live in 80 counties throughout Ohio. It’s nearly impossible to draw maps that meet the required criteria and draw reasonable maps when geographically Republican voters are much more distanced across the state throughout the rural landscape and Democrats are more concentrated in more urban areas.”
Redistricting criteria include not splitting political subdivisions, single-county districts, and like communities staying together, among others.
Collier said that unlike many states, Ohio is blessed with large amounts of both rural and urban centers.
“The last statistics I saw showed nearly equal amounts of people live in incorporated areas as live in unincorporated areas around the state,” he said. “I don’t know if another state has that mix.”
Tate said one of the ways the Aug. 2 election affects constituents is that the Democratic Party does not have a candidate for the state assembly on this primary ballot.
“This is due to the confusion over where the lines were drawn and not being informed a candidate could get signatures for the old district and would run in the primary from the district where they are shown to live on the new maps,” she explained. “We will have a write-in candidate for the November election.”
Both parties have worked to educate voters about the Aug. 2 special election and the change in voting districts.
“We have printed maps to show Democratic voters the general outline of the districts and have shown them how to look up their ballots on the Knox County Board of Election web page, but they are still confused, as are many of us,” Tate said. “Even with the maps from the Secretary of State showing the districts, it is difficult to see exactly where people live.”
“Constituents want to be engaged, but it is difficult to educate them with the constant changes and inconsistencies,” Collier said. “Most people I talk to think it is ridiculous, unnecessary, and confusing. We do what we can to educate voters, but mass communication is expensive. We have made several attempts, but no one source reaches all of the people without spending large amounts of money we don’t have locally.”
Tate said that now that Knox County is divided in half, it can be considered as a stepsister to Holmes County.
“Holmes County is now the center of the district because it has a larger population than either half of Knox County or all of Coshocton County,” she explained. “If someone wants to run as a candidate, filing must take place in Holmes County.
“Knox County has lost its political influence,” she continued. “At the other end of Knox County, Delaware County takes precedence.”
Collier said there is an advantage to having two Ohio House districts in the county.
“When you have a pressing issue, you can catch the ear of two representatives,” he said. “Regardless of which portion of the county they represent, they will respond.”
Noting his past experience as state representative for Knox County and parts of Ashland and Richland counties, Collier said he attended public events and forums regardless of where they were held.
“It’s really not possible to only represent a portion of a rural county,” he said. “You represent anyone in that county who needs assistance. I worked with other representatives of the same party and of a different party, it didn’t matter. I never asked, ‘where in the county do you live?’ We just worked together and did what we could to represent our communities.”
Special elections typically have a low voter turnout. Projections for the Aug. 2 special election show a 5% turnout, a number Collier said is “horrible for our state and our candidates.”
“This primary election will determine who represents each party in the statehouse as well as on the state central committees,” Collier said. “Both of these are critical to the functions of our state government.”
Tate also noted the importance of voting.
“Every citizen has a right and a responsibility to exercise their vote,” she said. “If people don’t vote, they may not get a government they like.”
Who’s on the ballot?
The Aug. 2 special election serves as the primary election for state House and Senate representatives as well as central committee candidates. The primaries for statewide issues and congressional and local offices occurred May 3.
Here are the candidates for Aug. 2.
Ohio House of Representatives District 61: Republicans Shawn Stevens and Beth Lear; Democrat Louise Valentine
Ohio House of Representatives District 98: Republicans Darrell Kick and Scott Pullins
Ohio Senate: Chrissie Hinshaw and Heather Swiger, Democrats; and Andrew Brenner, Republican
State Central Committee (Man): Democrats John Hartman and Joydeep Gupta; Republicans Fred Daily, Jack Etheridge, Robin Hovis, and Gary James
State Central Committee (Woman): Mary Rugola-Dye, Democrat; Melanie Leneghan, Carol O’Brien, Andrea Dalton, and Nicole Justice, Republicans
Early voting
Early voting started July 6. Voters can vote early at the Knox County Board of Elections, 104 E. Sugar St., Mount Vernon, on the following dates:
•July 28: 8 am – 7 pm
•July 29: 8 am – 7 pm
•July 30: 8 am – 4 pm
•July 31: 1-5 pm
•Aug. 1: 8 am – 2 pm
The polls are open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm on Election Day. For more information about voting and to see a sample ballot for the Aug. 2 special election, visit the Knox County Board of Elections.
