Muskingum County voting: A breakdown of the races on the ballot
ZANESVILLE - It's less than two weeks until Election Day, but the Muskingum County ballot is available to look at now.
As of Tuesday, 18,165 ballots have been cast absentee in Muskingum County. Absentee voting includes all forms of early voting, like the in-person early voting option at the Board of Elections office, by mail, hand carry, etc.
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Mail-in absentee ballots have been the most popular form of early voting this year, with 12,344 ballots cast that way. That's already 50% more than the number of people who mailed absentee ballots in the 2016 general election.
Nearly 5,300 people have voted early in-person at the BOE office. That's just 200 under for the total number of voters who went to the BOE to cast their ballots four years ago.
What's on the ballot
Like most Ohio, there is a mix of races for U.S. Congress, Ohio legislature, state judges and various county races on the ballot. Voters won't have to decide on any levies or issues this year.
Two Ohio Legislature seats representing districts that include Muskingum County are up for a vote.
Two members of U.S. Congress face opposition. U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville, faces two opponents
County races
About half of county races are contested this year.
Judge races for the county court of common pleas, domestic relations court and juvenile probate court are all uncontested.
Current domestic relations Judge Jeffrey Hooper is not running for re-election, and his seat should be filled by Maria Kalis, who currently serves as a magistrate on Coshocton County's court of common pleas.
Races for county engineer, recorder, treasurer, prosecutor and all commissioners seats are uncontested, although there are a few new names on the ballot.
Mike Haddox, the current Muskingum County prosecuting attorney, is not running for reelection. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ron Welch is running unopposed for that seat.
Clerk of Courts Wendy Sowers was appointed in March following the sudden death of the previous clerk Todd Bickle. Democrat Greg Ritterbeck is running against her. He is a commissioned Crooksville police officer and treasurer of a local Teamsters union.
Twelve-year Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz will see competition in this year's race from Josh Weaver, who has spent his career moving through the ranks at Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Ohio legislature
Local district seats for senator and a state representative need to be filled for the 134th Ohio General Assembly.
Incumbent state Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, is opposed by Christian Johnson, a teacher from Pickerington, in the race for Ohio Senate District 20.
The 97th Ohio House District seat currently held by Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, faces Democratic opposition from Zanesville native Alaina Swope.
Holmes was selected to fill the 97th district's seat last year after former Rep. Brian Hill left a vacancy when he was appointed to the Ohio Senate.
A vacancy in the 78th Ohio House District has led to two newcomers to the race: Republican Brian Stewart of Ashville and Democrat Charlotte Owens of Lithopolis.
Republicans hold a solid majority in both chambers of the General Assembly, with Democrats only representing about a third of its members.
Ohio Senate is currently comprised of nine Democrats and 24 Republicans. The house has 38 Democrats and 61 Republicans.
U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville, is running for reelection in Ohio's 12th Congressional District, which covers counties across the North Central, Columbus metro and Eastern Ohio regions.
It includes roughly the southern half of Muskingum County and all of Zanesville. The district has historically been represented by Republicans.
His seat is opposed by Democrat Alaina Shearer, a business owner and former journalist from Delaware, Ohio, and Libertarian John Stewart of Gahanna.
The race for Ohio's 6th Congressional District will appear on the ballot the same as it did for the 2018 midterm election: Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, will be facing the same Democratic challenger he did in 2018, Shawna Roberts of Belmont.
It covers the top half of Muskingum County 17 others in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio. The district runs along the Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky borders.
The U.S. House flipped to a Democrat majority after the 2018 midterm election. The chamber is made up of 197 Republicans, 232 Democrats and one Libertarian.
Nonpartisan statewide races
William Hoffman on Ohio's 5th Court of Appeals. He is challenged by Jeff Furr.
Two Ohio Supreme Court judges will be elected.
Ron Hood and Michelle Newman are vying for a seat on the Ohio State Board of Education in its ninth district.
ecouch@gannett.com
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Twitter: @erinccouch