The presidential candidates will be at the top of your ballot this November, but the items near the end can make an immediate and tangible difference in the lives of Ohioans. There are dozens of county levies on the ballot which, if passed, would provide millions of dollars in investments in health and social services. A total 49 levies are up for voter approval in 38 counties in the 2020 General Election.

A total 49 levies are up for voter approval in 39 counties in the 2020 General Election.

The above list was compiled by The Center for Community Solutions by examining sample ballots from each of the 88 county boards of elections. It includes aging and senior services levies, mental health or addiction recovery or both, children’s services and child welfare, public health and health department levies, and support for developmental disabilities or a county home run by the Developmental Disabilities Board.

Funding from these levies would provide support for some of the Ohioans most impacted by the pandemic and its economic fallout.

Only one levy is new: Morrow County is seeking an additional 1.5 mills of funding for Developmental Disabilities. The Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County is asking voters to renew and increase their levy for a total of 2.85 mills for five years. In Guernsey County voters will be asked to replace the senior levy and replace the children’s services levy with an increase. The health district in Hancock County is also seeking a replacement. The other 44 levies are renewals. Renewal levies typically do not change the property tax bills for homeowners because they extend the levy collection period using the same purpose and the property vales at the original time of passage. Most levies on 2020 General Election ballot are for a five-year period.

Voters in eight counties will have to consider more than one health and social service levy. There are two levies on the ballots in Ashland, Butler, Guernsey, Mahoning, Marion, and Washington and three levies in Adams and Clermont.

Between now and Election Day, please vote and when you do, be sure to go all the way to the end of the ballot.

Funding from these levies would provide support for some of the Ohioans most impacted by the pandemic and its economic fallout. This includes programs for older adults to combat social isolation, implementation of more telehealth options for people struggling with mental illness, and resources for public health departments to do the critical work of disease surveillance and contract tracing. Between now and Election Day, please vote and when you do, be sure to go all the way to the end of the ballot.