DAYTON — Early voting starts next week, and News Center 7 talked with election leaders from eight counties, and they have a clear message for voters.
The individuals who run elections in Montgomery County and several neighboring counties around the region insist this is more important than last year’s election. It’s not an off-election year; they call it your hometown election.
Jeff Rezabek, Director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said now is when people vote on things in their community that impact them the most.
“This is the time in which the voter has the most power,” Rezabek said.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- 8 students on board bus involved in crash in Darke County; 1 driver flown to hospital
- Morgan Wallen arrest: Police camera footage released after chair-throwing incident
- 26-year-old woman killed in crash after car overturns in Montgomery County
He continued by saying, “This is where they’re touching your pocketbook, and they’re touching the policies in your community. I don’t know why you wouldn’t come out.”
Election leaders from neighboring counties all agreed that voters don’t pay enough attention to election years when the issues and races are all about their hometown.
Brian Sleeth, Director of the Warren County Board of Elections, said, “I get calls after the election. I didn’t know about the election. This thing passed. If you don’t show up, you really can’t complain,”
Rezabek said in Montgomery County, both Dayton and Kettering have mayoral races and commission elections, plus there are school levies and other tax questions.
He said making your voice heard is easy, by mail, early voting, or in person. All you need is an unexpired ID with a picture, a military ID, or a passport to vote.
Voters can even cast a provisional ballot and bring a valid photo ID within four days. Everyone agrees that NOW is the time to make the hometown elections just as packed as presidential election years.
Sleeth said, “It is kind of frustrating because all the work we put into this, this is the election where your tax dollars are really being decided.”
Voting on hometown issues begin as early as October 7. Every board of elections leader News Center 7 spoke to said their websites answer almost every question you could have.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
