The Collegian will bring live updates, results, stories and more to the Ashland County community throughout the Nov. 7 Election Day.
The content produced by the Ashland University Journalism and Digital Media Department is brought to you by students that is coordinated and overviewed by faculty members.
To tune in: Live Video Broadcast AND Live Audio Broadcast
Ohio voters pass issues one and two after controversial build up
Written by Brittany Wachtel, posted at 11:00 P.M.
After a controversial run, both issues one and two have been passed by Ohio voters.
Under issue one, Ohio’s constitution will be amended to include a right to abortion.
President Joe Biden took to Instagram to commend Ohio voters.
“Ohioans and voters across the country rejected attempts by MAGA Republican elected officials to impose extreme abortion bans that put the health and lives of women in jeopardy, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care, and threaten to criminalize doctors and nurses for providing the health care that their patients need and that they are trained to provide. This extreme and dangerous agenda is out-of-step with the vast majority of Americans,” said Biden.
Abortion rights advocates and groups such as Ohio Democrats celebrated the win across Ohio.
The passing of issue two legalizes recreational marijuana across Ohio.
Tom Haren, spokesperson for the pro-issue two group Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, celebrated the passing of issue two.
“Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue. Ohioans demonstrated this by passing State Issue 2 in a landslide. Ohioans are being extremely clear on the future they want for our state: adult-use marijuana legal and regulated,” said Haren.
The passing of both issue one and two recognizes the efforts of Democratic voters throughout Ohio.
City of Ashland levy results
Written by Graham Scott, posted at 10:43 P.M.
Many city levies were up for renewal on the ballot.
The Ashland Library’s tax levy was renewed, with 60.46% of the vote in favor. It is currently expected to provide $1 million over the next five years.
Two tax levies for Dale-Roy disability programs were renewed. The first, for $1.5 million over five years, passed with 63.73% of the vote. The second, for $2.1 million over three years, 64.26% of the vote.
An Ashland city tax levy for recreational purposes was renewed, with 64.14% of the vote. It is currently expected to provide half a million dollars over the next five years.
A levy to allow the sale of wine and mixed beverages in stores owned by Bell Stores, Inc. was passed, with 66.94% of the vote.
Ashland County council members determined
Written by Graham Scott, posted at 10:19 P.M.
The city council races across Ashland County have been called. Two members have been elected per ballot.
In Bailey Lakes Village, Randy Ramsthaler ran unopposed, with 71 votes.
In Hayesville Village, Tucker Conrad (97 votes) and Libby Justice (85 votes) defeated Todd Miller (58 votes), with a combined 75.84% of the vote.
In Jeromesville Village, Jeremiah Cordes (101 votes) and Beth Wilson (86 votes) ran unopposed.
In Loudonville Village, Brandon T. Biddinger ran unopposed, with 713 votes.
In Mifflin Village, Pamela Y. Crain (35 votes) and Robert D. Wilson (31 votes) ran unopposed.
In Perrysville Village, Chris Clady (118 votes) and Larry Sprang (103 votes) defeated Lonnie E. Harris, II (82 votes), with a combined 72.94% of the vote.
In Polk Village, Sara Carter (87 votes) and Judy A. Karoglan (69 votes) ran unopposed.
In Savannah Village, Holly Farr (108 votes) and Scott Murmaw (81 votes) defeated Sarah J. McBride (69 votes), with a combined 73.26% of the vote.
Levy results coming soon.
Issues one and two 10 p.m. update
Written by Brittany Wachtel, posted at 10:00 P.M.
As of 10 p.m. both issues one and two are projected to win according to CNN.
Issue one:
Yes: 55.6%
No: 44.4%
Issue two:
Yes: 55.8%
No: 44.2%
Ashland County ballots tallied, mayoral races called
Written by Graham Scott, posted at 9:41 P.M.
The ballots are officially in for the mayoral races as of 9 p.m.
In Bailey Lakes Village, John R. Benshoff ran unopposed, with 92 votes.
In Hayesville Village, Robin Beasley ran unopposed, with 149 votes.
In Jeromesville Village, Randy Spade (112 votes) defeated Kevin L. Clark (51 votes), with 68.71% of the vote.
In Loudonville Village, Jason Van Sickle ran unopposed, with 715 votes.
In Mifflin Village, Victoria A. Schulz (25 votes) defeated Freddie L. Craig (24 votes), with 51.02% of the vote.
In Perrysville Village, Steve Goines and Bob Zakutni tied with 84 votes each, defeating Heather Mullinnex (39 votes). Tiebreaking results to come.
In Polk Village, Donald E. Foster, III ran unopposed, with 91 votes.
In Savannah Village, Thomas G. Kruse (92 votes) defeated Doug Yoho (88 votes), with 57.50% of the vote.
Stay tuned for more local results.
Election Show 2023: The importance of content distribution
Written by Cade Cracas, posted at 9:30 P.M.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Ashland University (AU) Journalism and Digital Media (JDM) Department brings the Ashland County a variety of content pieces, live results and a full-fledged two hour long broadcast on Election Day.
Throughout the evening, the departments different mediums, 88.9 WRDL, AUTV and the Collegian, will be bringing the audience live results as the polls close around the county.
“At JDM, we offer a diverse spectrum of content,” said Chair of the AU JDM Department Dr. David McCoy. “The Election Show stems from a multi-media, multi-cast, wall-to-wall coverage basis that brings the concept that we want to deliver to our audience in the campus and community, a wide variety of things.”
Since the start of the 2023-2024 Academic Year, the students of the JDM Department have been working tirelessly on different multi-media pieces to bring a diverse portfolio of content to the table.
“We are not walking into this show, five minutes until 9:00 P.M. and getting done right at 11:00 P.M., what this show really reflects the work that the students have been doing the entire semester,” said Dr. McCoy. “We have had a team that has been working for over 11 weeks on this and two other production teams working on other platforms. We have had students trained up to be able to do this show.”
When students enter the department at the beginning of the semester, Dr. McCoy helps to evaluate and guide students to positions that best fit their interests. For some, Election Day will consist of working on social media pieces for Instagram, X, Facebook and even TikTok.
“It’s important to use our social media platforms to reach different audiences because everyone should have easy access to news especially if it going to affect you,” said 88.9 WRDL Social Media and Promotions Director Brynn Meisse. “Knowledge is extremely powerful and valuable to the community, so using various platforms will help spread and raise awareness.”
This type of distribution of content allows for multiple students to get opportunity to create content, while also bringing the audience different platforms to follow along on.
While a primary focus lies on social media, other responsibilities include creating packages, informational videos and behind-the-scenes content. These forms of content are shown throughout the live audio and video broadcasts.
“It’s important to be a student coming out of college that has a diverse portfolio because potential jobs want you to be a well rounded media professional right out of the gate,” said Executive Producer of the Election Show Ethan Jenkins.”These forms of content both help grow the students career in the media industry, and help educate the audience in numerous formats.”
To follow along with the busy schedule of Election Day 2023, head over to the links below to check out all content brought to you by the AU JDM Department:
The Collegian: AUCollegian (X), TheCollegian (Instagram), The Collegian (Facebook)
AUTV: AUTV20(X), AUTV20 (Instagram), AUTV20 (Facebook)
88.9 WRDL FM: 889_WRDL (X) 889_WRDL (Instagram), 88.9 WRDL – Ashland (Facebook)
Live Video Broadcast AND Live Audio Broadcast
Issues one and two 9:30 p.m. update.
Written by Brittany Wachtel, posted at 9:30 P.M.
As of 9:30 p.m. results on issue two is too close to determine an outcome. CNN is projecting for the Ohio issue one bill to pass.
Issue one is still passing by 12.28%.
Yes: 56.14%
No: 43.86%
Issue two is passing by 11.1%.
Yes: 55.55%
No: 44.45%
Issues one and two both passing as of 9 p.m.
Written by Brittany Wachtel, posted at 9:00 P.M.
As of 9 p.m. issues one and two are both passing.
In Ohio, issue one is close.
Yes: 58.6%
No: 41.4%
Issue two is passing by a small margin.
Yes: 55.6%
No: 44.4%
Ashland city candidates run unopposed, offices remain unchanged
Written by Graham Scott, posted at 8:48 P.M.
As the ballots for Ashland County continue to be counted, the results for the city of Ashland are already clear-cut, as every available office ran unopposed.
John Good has been re-elected to the office of Municipal Judge, with 13,911 votes cast in favor.
Larry Paxton has been re-elected to the office of Director of Finance, with 4,461 votes cast in favor.
Richard Wolfe has been re-elected to the office of Director of Law, with 4,346 votes cast in favor.
Dan Lawson has been re-elected to the office of Member of Council at Large, with 4,311 votes cast in favor.
Steve Workman has been re-elected to the office of First Ward Member of Council, with 1,555 votes cast in favor.
Ashland mayor Matt Miller was not on the 2023 ballot, his next election will be in 2025.
Ohio voters await issue one and two results as polls close
Written by Brittany Wachtel, posted at 8:07 P.M.
Voters across the state of Ohio are anxiously waiting for votes to roll in as polling locations across the state close.
Both issues one and two have proven to be controversial, and both Democrats and Republicans are anxiously preparing to learn of the results of both issues.
Sachin Jose, a Cleveland based Catholic journalist, took to X this morning to document the reactions of some Ohio Catholics.
Jose posted a video of Catholics praying for the failure of issue one at the steps of the Rosary at Holy Cross Immaculata Church in Cincinnati. A banner hung from the banister of the church reads “Vote no issue one. Protect children.”
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Ohio politicians such as Laura Rodriguez-Carbone took to social media to advocate for the passing of issue one.
As of 7:37 p.m. NBC News’ live election results show that issue one is passing by 75.8% and issue two is passing by 64.7%. These percentages are based on an estimated 3% of total results.
The Collegian will continue to report on the results of issues one and two as well as local election results as numbers roll in.
AU College Republicans and Students for Life host election watch party
Written by Brittany Wachtel, posted at 7:43 P.M.
AU College Republicans and Students for Life are hosting an election watch party in Andrews 102 for all interested students.
President of the College Republicans, Claire Houchin, says that the goal of the watch party is to allow students to keep up with the results and talk with other students.
“These are things that are going to be in the Constitution that are going to affect Ohioans for the rest of their life. I think it’s important that you have a voice in what’s going to affect your life,” said Houchin.
Houchin said that the College Republicans and Students for Life are hoping for neither issue one nor issue two to pass, as both issues directly conflict with the beliefs of the groups.
“We are hoping for failure on both issue one and two, I mean Republicans don’t believe in abortion or drugs,” said Houchin.
The watch party will include snacks and games as students watch the votes roll in once the polls close at 7 p.m.