Portage voters delve into abortion, post-pandemic life, voter apathy ahead of midterm election

As voters prepare to hit the polls across the country Nov. 8, a variety of issues take center stage.

And for many, it’s personal.

Of Ohio’s 88 counties, Portage County is the 30th-largest in terms of sheer square area, according to 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. With a population of 161,791, it’s the 19th-most populated in the state.

The county is comprised of five cities, six villages and 18 townships. It’s made up of predominantly white residents and contains 62,785 households. Its average household income is $59,485 annually, and 9.9% of residents are actively living below the poverty line.

With school district levies, tax levies and more on the line locally, voters from three municipalities are also weighing issues on the state and federal levels.

City of Streetsboro

With a population of 17,260, the city of Streetsboro sits at the northwestern edge of Portage County. It’s one of only five cities that make up the county and has a slightly higher average income when compared to the county as a whole with a median income of $64,667, and 27.8% of residents have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.

On the ballot this fall are the same, standard gubernatorial candidates and statewide issues on ballots across Ohio. 

In addition, Streetsboro residents are also faced with six local, specific issues and ballot-items:

Julia Carr is from and currently resides in Hudson, Ohio, or just five miles away from the city of Streetsboro.

Carr said she is concerned about the use of her image and beliefs in publication due to her role as a teacher and fears of repercussions. She and her husband teach in the same school district their children attend.

“There’s always room for improvement, like DEI [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion] and not allowing crazy parents to hijack the school library,” Carr said.

Carr is referring to a January 2022 incident involving Hudson parents demanding that multiple books be pulled from the high school’s library due to “offensive” content.

Three of the issues driving her to the polls are abortion, the treatment of migrants and affordable insulin.

“I want a cap on the list price, not a cap on the insurance,” she said.

As she prepares to enter a Target to shop, Carr said she is “really grateful” to have not been impacted by rising prices and inflation on the same scale as others across the country.

“I’m really grateful that I can afford to pay whatever it costs,” she said. “But I was in Aldi yesterday, and the prices were unbelievably, like half price in produce, I have no idea why. The produce was crazy cheap, compared to what it was, maybe a month ago.”

Carr said she feels the government is “doing as well as they can.”

“I’m not benefitting immensely from the things the federal government’s doing, but I’m grateful that they care enough to help people who need the help,” Carr said. “I didn’t benefit from the student loan forgiveness, but I’m super grateful that they did that for people.”

On the other hand, Carr describes the Ohio government as “terrible.”

“It’s completely run by one party [Republicans] that doesn’t care about humans,” she said. “I hope that something can get changed, but it’s gerrymandered, so I don’t know if it ever will.”

Sarah Viers is a Kent State student. She’s lived in Stow her whole life, but works at the Streetsboro Target location.

Ahead of the midterm elections, Viers said she is motivated by policies that better her community and world.

“As we’re coming out of the pandemic, seeing how people are readjusting to life, making sure that we stay on the right track, especially since once the pandemic started, a lot of people were advocating for social justice issues,” Viers said. “I think that keeping on track with that and helping to better our society, make it into a better place, that’s something that really motivates me.”

With respect to increasing prices, Viers said she considers herself to have “definitely” been impacted.

“Right now, I live out of the house, and I rely on jobs like Target,” she said. “And I’ve found that as prices keep going up, it becomes a lot harder to live, because the cost of living keeps rising, while the pay rate stays pretty stagnant. I’ve found it kind of difficult to make ends meet, here and there.”

As far as her local and federal government, Viers said she doesn’t see those entities represented in her everyday life.

“I wish that there was more representation within it,” she said. “There’s always improvements that can be made, and I would like to see them foster more of a communal idea, bring people together.”

Erin Reuter is the owner of Amelia’s Vintage and Thrift, located at 9058 OH-14 in Streetsboro and named after her daughter. She’s lived in Streetsboro for around 17 years. 

She bought the store in October of 2020 and had been contemplating opening a shop for “a while.”

“I didn’t know that Streetsboro could handle multiple secondhand shops with Goodwill, and then this, and what I wanted,” Reuter said. “Just the excitement of wanting to do something, I was like, this is it, I’m buying it.”

Merchandise sold in the store comes 100% from donations.

“It’s not that supply issues affect me immediately, but my gas is up, my electric is up,” Reuter said. “If I get it free, they want it cheap. If I keep it cheap, I gotta make a lot of sales. … I personally don’t make any money.”

Outside of her store, there has been ongoing construction. She believes it’s due to widening the road and doesn’t know the timeframe of the construction.

“They’ve shut the water, or water breaks multiple times,” Reuter said. “The past couple weeks, they’ve had my main entrance blocked full days. … It’s not great. It’s been a couple slow months. I don’t know how much traffic is just people that happen by, but that doesn’t happen with this.”

While she said local chain businesses might not be largely impacted by the construction, she finds herself worried for the small businesses, like her own.

“There are days, it’s just sad,” she said. “My employees are like, can you even afford to pay me today? And I’m like, not really, but it’ll be fine.”

As far as the midterm elections, she said some people may feel like the ongoings in their community are out of control. Reuter said the issue she cares about locally the most is the ongoing construction outside her store, though she doesn’t feel the election can change that.

“It’s a small town; you’re like, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be,” Reuter said.

Shalersville Township

With a population of 5,245, Shalersville Township is a predominantly rural community.

On average, only 18.4% of residents have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, the lowest rate of the three areas mentioned. Two percent of residents are without healthcare, and 7.6% of residents live below the poverty line. The median annual income is $63,049, or just slightly below the county average.

Residents are also faced with three local, specific issues and ballot-items:

Tara Davis is originally from Wayne County, Ohio. She is an employee of Haylett’s Save 4 Store, located on the north end of State Route 303. The storefront also sells gasoline with a total of four service pumps on site.

With increasing gas prices and inflation on the rise, Davis said customers are the ones being most negatively impacted. Davis described the prices of gas and convenience items sold at the store as “a whole life circle.”

“It’s not my fault that it raises, it’s not my boss’ fault that it raises,” she said. “Not only does it change the prices for things, but the amount of customers that we get, and then their agitation, obviously, so their mental health as well. It starts to cause a lot more anxiety with people. How are they going to afford things?”

When it comes to the upcoming midterm election, Davis said she normally votes solely in presidential elections and avoids midterm elections due to being “not educated enough on the issues at hand.”

“Honestly, I don’t normally do midterm votes,” Davis said. “I won’t do an uneducated vote.”

For those in a similar position, Davis advised others to advocate for themselves and independently research issues.

“Do your own research,” she said. “Do not listen to the news or any other paid type of advertisement to form your own, true, unbiased opinion.”