COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cuyahoga County's Tuesday primary election features city council and mayoral races, a recall effort and local Sunday liquor options. Here is what you need to know.
Tens of thousands of voters in 193 precincts across six Cleveland-area municipalities have choices to make Sept. 9. Already, more than one thousand have voted.
For each candidate race, the top two vote-getting candidates will advance from Tuesday to the general election on Nov. 4.
Cuyahoga County is the only county in the state to have a Sept. primary. All races are designated as nonpartisan. The (i) after someone's name means they are the incumbent.
The ballot
City Council
Cleveland City Council wards 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 12 all have seats up.
The districts are shrinking from 17 wards to 15, so incumbents may now be combined into one district.
RELATED: CLE City Council approves new ward boundaries despite community's concerns
Seat 1: Juanita O. Brent, Aylwin S. Bridges, Marc G. Crosby, Joe Jones (i), Lesa Jones Dollar
Seat 3: Deborah A. Gray (i), Sharon M. Spruill, Erich V. Stubbs
Seat 5: Rebecca Maurer (i), Beverly Owens-Jackson, Richard A. Starr (i)
Seat 7: Austin N. Davis, Mohammad Faraj, Mike Roglaski
Seat 8: Stephanie Howse-Jones (i), Leon Meredith, Charlotte Perkins, Tony Perry (Write-In), Teri Ying-Liang Wang
Seat 9: Alana Belle, Kevin Conwell (i), Tony Evans, Jr.
Seat 12: Andrew DeFratis, Danny Kelly (i), Tanmay Shah
RELATED: Cleveland City Council will vote to censure Councilman Joe Jones over misconduct. Just not today.
"The reason why there are so many Cleveland wards that are not in the election is because the field of candidates is already two people," Cuyahoga County Board of Elections' Mike West said.
Maple Heights City Council has District 7 up.
Seat 7: Edwina K. Agee (i), Travian M. Atkins, Samantha C. Scales
Mayoral
Mayoral races are being held in East Cleveland, Garfield Heights and Cleveland Heights.
East Cleveland: Juanita Gowdy, Sandra Morgan, Vidah Aminah Saeed, Lateek R. Shabazz (i), Sean L. Ward
Both Sandra Morgan and Lateek Shabazz acted as mayor at some point during 2025 after former Mayor Brandon King was convicted of corruption. However, a court decided that Shabazz is the rightful mayor.
RELATED: Court of Appeals confirms Lateek Shabazz as East Cleveland's new mayor
Garfield Heights: Matt Burke (i), James S. Feeney, Cathy Mack
Cleveland Heights: Deanna Bremer Fisher, Marty Gelfand, Laura Kinsley Hong, Jim Petras, Davida Russell
Recall
Current Cleveland Heights Mayor Khalil Seren isn't up for reelection; however, voters are being asked whether to recall him, removing him from office.
The recall comes as Seren has been under the microscope of scrutiny for months, stemming from a civil rights complaint regarding his wife, a discrimination lawsuit, a delayed budget 2025 budget process and high staff turnover.
"This is important because we have zero confidence in Mayor Seren's ability or willingness to conduct city business, lead City Hall, or execute the mayor's duties in accordance with the city charter. Each day that he holds office, the city of Cleveland Heights continues to be put at risk and harmed," one of the recall organizers, Josie Moore, told News 5.
Although residents submitted more than 4,000 signatures to get his removal on the ballot, not everyone agrees.
"He has to devote all his time and energy to making sure all his projects are ready to hand off to the next mayor. That's going to take a lot of work and if he's fighting a recall at the same time, that's going to really distract him," Drew Herzig said. "Their claim is that every day he spends in office does irreparable damage to the city, which is ridiculous. I mean, they started a fire. They poured gasoline on it, and now they're blaming the mayor for the smoke. I think this is ill conceived and it will do damage to the city if they can move forward with it."
Liquor issues
Cleveland Ward 7, Precinct J has the option to allow SoHo Chicken + Whiskey to sell alcohol on Sundays.
Lakewood Ward 1, Precinct B has the option of allowing Rood Food and Pie to sell alcohol on Sundays.
How to find your district
Either call the BOE at 216-443-8683 or visit their website by clicking here.
"We have maps and tools available for them to look and see if their new ward is going to be in Tuesday's election," West said.
Once at the website, click "Get your voter information," and fill out the form. You could also do a search by address.
You will find which ward you are in, your sample ballot and your polling location.
Voting
Election Day is Sept. 9. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. If not returned by mail, absentee ballots must be received by your board of elections by 7:30 p.m.
Click here to check your registration status.
You MUST vote at your BOE if you are voting early. It has a new location, and the address is 1803 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114.
It now sits between Superior and St. Clair avenues and E. 18th and E. 21st streets. Voters looking to vote in person will enter the parking lot off E. 18th St.
Voters looking to use the drop box to deliver an absentee ballot will need to use the E. 21st St. entrance. Go through the parking lot behind the building and then exit out the E. 18th St. side.
There is no entrance from the front of the building on Superior Ave.; everyone will enter from the rear of the building off the parking lot.
Early voting hours
Sept. 6: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sept. 7: 1 - 5 p.m.
No early voting on Monday.
Voter identification
You need to bring a photo ID when voting in person. Acceptable forms are a valid Ohio driver's license, a U.S. passport or a military ID. You may no longer use bank statements or utility bills.
RELATED: What you need to vote at the polls in Ohio
Other acceptable forms of ID are a state of Ohio ID card, an interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV, a U.S. passport card, an Ohio National Guard ID card and a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.
Other unacceptable forms of ID are a driver’s license or photo identification card issued by a state other than Ohio; a Social Security card, birth certificate, insurance card, government check, paycheck or other government document; or any registration acknowledgment notice from the county board of elections.
The IDs must have an expiration date that has not passed, a photograph of the voter, and the voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the Poll List or in the Poll Book.
If you do not have any of the approved forms of identification, you are allowed to cast a provisional ballot. To have your vote counted, you must return to the BOE within four days of the election to provide a photo ID.
Clothing
If you're looking for a smooth voting process in Ohio, don't wear political attire to the polls.
State rules prohibit voters or poll workers from wearing anything that can be seen as supporting or opposing a candidate, party or issue.
You will still be allowed to vote, but you will be asked to either turn a shirt inside out or take off a hat.
Nonpartisan voter helpline
If you have any questions or concerns about voting, a nonpartisan helpline has been created.
Call or text 1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to speak with a trained Election Protection volunteer in English.
The hotline also comes in different languages
Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682)
Asian languages: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683)
Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287)
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
