Area residents visit First Christian Church’s New Life Center in Barnesville to cast their ballots on Tuesday. Voters in the village were choosing new council and school board members, among many other races and issues on the ballot. TL File Photo

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Although 2023 did not have a presidential election, there were plenty of local and statewide issues and races to attract voters to the polls in August and November.

Ohio voted no on Ohio Issue 1 during a special Aug. 8 election. If voted through, the issue would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution. Instead of a simple majority, 60% of votes cast would have been needed to change state laws if the issue had passed.

Some state officials asserted that if Issue 1 had passed, it would have made it more difficult to pass the right to abortion during the Nov. 7 general election.

Ohio residents voted in favor of a different Issue 1 in November. The measure guarantees the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. According to totals from the Belmont County Board of Elections, 1,548,147 Ohioans voted in favor of the issue while 1,233,781 voted against it.

Buckeye State voters also turned out in favor of Issue 2 in November, legalizing recreational marijuana use. According to totals from the Belmont County Board of Elections, 1,543,995 Ohioans voted in favor of the measure and 1,217,487 voted against it.

Adults age 21 and older can legally purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis as well as cultivate plants indoors as a result of the new law. A 10% sales tax was put in place.

However, lawmakers have made efforts to alter the law as approved by voters, and no regulatory system for recreational marijuana is yet in place, meaning that the substance is not yet being legally distributed.

Here at home during the Nov. 7 election, Martins Ferry residents turned down a proposed 1% income tax increase. According to the Belmont County Board of Elections, 992 votes were cast in opposition to the increase, while 301 were cast in favor of the tax hike.

The proposed increase would have raised the income tax rate from 1% to 2%. City officials wanted to use the additional funds to cover general city expenses including maintaining recreation programs, supporting the police department and tearing down dilapidated homes.

Area residents also rejected a proposed $62 million bond issue for the Union Local School District during the November election. The issue was voted down with 2,269 in opposition to the bond and 723 in favor. The funds would have been used to do major upgrades to the district’s facilities.

Meanwhile, Kathryn Thalman was re-elected as mayor of St. Clairsville after a heated race with Councilwoman Linda Jordan and resident Bill Brooks. Thalman won with 926 votes and will begin her second term in 2024. Jordan received 615 and Brooks received 273 votes, according to totals from the Belmont County Board of Elections. Jordan’s term on council will conclude at the end of this year since she did not seek reelection to that post.

On Nov. 7, Thalman said she planned to continue working on many projects including refurbishing the former Junior Fair building as a recreation facility and shifting from reservoir use to purchasing water from Belmont County.