Neutral and nonpartisan. This page says what each issue does. It does not tell you how to vote, and it does not take a side. Every figure below links to a source. When a claim comes from reporting or from an official rather than from the ballot, we say whose claim it is.
What a Toledo voter sees on November 3
A Toledo voter sees eight issues:
- Issue 3, a statewide amendment to the Ohio Constitution
- Issue 8, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library levy
- Issue 9, the Toledo Public Schools levy
- Issue 13, the Imagination Station renewal
- Issue 16, a City of Toledo income tax
- Issues 17, 18 and 19, three changes to the Toledo city charter
Lucas County has more issues than these. Issues 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 are for other communities, so most Toledo residents will not see them. To check your own ballot, look up your address with the Lucas County Board of Elections.
Each issue below follows the same shape. What it is, who put it there, what a yes vote does, what a no vote does, and what it costs.
Issue 3: photo ID to vote
What it is. A change to the Ohio Constitution. Voters would have to show a government photo ID to vote. That includes people who vote by mail.
Which IDs count. The official ballot language lists an unexpired Ohio driver license or state ID card, a United States passport or passport card, a United States military ID card, an Ohio National Guard ID card, or a Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.
A voter who has a sincere religious objection to being photographed could prove who they are another way. State law would set that method.
A voter who does not vote in person would also have to provide one of those IDs. The one exception is that state law may let them vote by giving a signature plus at least one other listed identifier.
Who put it on the ballot. The Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature, through Senate Joint Resolution 10. The measure would add Section 5 to Article V of the Ohio Constitution.
The Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the legislature's own nonpartisan research office, notes that the amendment would not change Ohio's current voter ID rules, which are already in state law. It would limit how much those rules could be changed later.
A yes vote means the photo ID rule becomes part of the Ohio Constitution.
A no vote means the Ohio Constitution does not change.
Cost. No tax.
Every Ohio voter sees this issue, not just Toledo.
Issue 8: Toledo Lucas County Public Library
A new 3-mill property tax for the library's day to day running costs. It lasts 5 years. It is countywide, so every Lucas County voter sees it.
The county auditor's estimate is $105 a year for every $100,000 of your home's market value. The auditor estimates it would raise about $34.3 million a year.
Read the full Issue 8 explainer
Issue 9: Toledo Public Schools
A new 6.9-mill property tax for the district's day to day running costs. It lasts 5 years. Only voters who live in the Toledo City School District vote on it.
The county auditor's estimate is $242 a year for every $100,000 of your home's market value. The auditor estimates it would raise about $22.8 million a year.
Read the full Issue 9 explainer
Issue 13: Imagination Station
A renewal of an existing 0.17-mill county tax. It pays to run and keep up the Imagination Station, Toledo's nonprofit science center. It is a renewal, not a new tax. It lasts 5 years. It is countywide.
The county auditor's estimate is $3 a year for every $100,000 of your home's market value. The auditor estimates it would raise about $1.3 million a year.
Read the full Issue 13 explainer
Issue 16: City of Toledo income tax
What it is. A new city income tax of 0.25 percent. It would last 4 years, from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2030. People who live or work in Toledo pay city income tax. The rate is 2.5 percent today. If this passes, it would be 2.75 percent.
This is an income tax, not a property tax. It is not measured in mills, and it does not depend on what your home is worth.
What the money is for. Ordinance 301-26 is the city law that put this on the ballot. It sends the money to the general fund for neighborhood safety, for police and fire safety force operations, and for breaking up criminal gangs. That wording is quoted by the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. The city says it would raise about $25 million a year.
What the city says about why. City officials say Toledo faces a structural budget gap of about $49.4 million. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz says the gap comes from decades of population loss and from cuts in state funding. That is the city's account of the problem, as reported by WTOL. We have not checked it against the city's books.
A yes vote means the city income tax goes up to 2.75 percent for 2027 through 2030.
A no vote means the city income tax stays at 2.5 percent.
Cost. You would pay 0.25 percent of what you earn. On a $40,000 income that is $100 more a year. On $60,000 it is $150 more a year. On $100,000 it is $250 more a year. Those are our own sums from the 0.25 percent rate, and WTOL used the same $250 figure.
What the city charter is
Issues 17, 18 and 19 all change the Toledo city charter. The charter is the city's own set of basic rules, a bit like a constitution for Toledo. It says how the city is run and who does what. Only voters can change it.
None of the three is a tax. All three are permanent. Toledo City Council put all three on the ballot.
Toledo City Paper reports that these three were once part of one large charter package that voters turned down a few years ago, now split into separate questions.
Issue 17: charter change on city employees
What it does. Three things, as described by Toledo City Paper:
- It changes Chapter I, Section 6 so that the charter's meaning of "employee" takes in workers in the unclassified service. Those are usually appointed jobs that are not filled by a civil service test. The change also removes wording described as out of date.
- It changes Chapter IV, Section 33 to let City Council set the terms of work for its own officers and staff. That takes in hiring, discipline and firing.
- It changes Chapter VIII, Section 171 to say that City Council's officers and staff are in the unclassified service.
Who put it on the ballot. Toledo City Council.
A yes vote means these three changes are made.
A no vote means the charter stays the same.
Cost. No tax.
Issue 18: charter change on elections and petitions
What it does. Three things, as described by Toledo City Paper. All three bring city rules closer to state law:
- It changes Chapter III, Section 14 so a candidate in a primary no longer has to file a separate written acceptance of nomination. Filing a nominating petition would be enough.
- It changes Chapter III, Section 17 so a write-in candidate must declare they are running on the forms the state provides.
- It changes Chapter VI, Section 83. Today, when citizens turn in a referendum or initiative petition, the election has to be held within 75 days. This would make it 90 days.
Who put it on the ballot. Toledo City Council.
A yes vote means these three changes are made.
A no vote means the charter stays the same.
Cost. No tax.
Issue 19: charter change on how the charter gets changed
What it does. When City Council wants to change the charter, it has to send the change to voters. Today the charter says Council does that with a resolution. This would require an ordinance instead.
An ordinance is a formal city law. It is the method the Ohio Constitution calls for. The change also rewrites that part of the charter, Chapter I, Section 5, to spell out the steps.
Who put it on the ballot. Toledo City Council.
A yes vote means Council must use an ordinance to send a charter change to voters, and that section is rewritten to be clearer.
A no vote means the charter stays the same.
Cost. No tax.
What we have not been able to check
We have not read the certified ballot wording for Issues 17, 18 and 19 ourselves. The charter chapters and sections above, and the description of each change, come from Toledo City Paper's account of the ballot language. We have linked the charter so you can read the current text yourself. We will swap in the ballot wording once we have it from the Board of Elections.
What the cost figures mean
Each property tax cost above is the county auditor's estimate for every $100,000 of your home's market value. Market value is not the same as what you paid for your home. It is also not the same as what it would sell for today. To find yours, look up your address on the Lucas County Auditor's site (AREIS).
The Issue 16 cost is different. It is a share of income, not of property value.
How we write these
Every figure on this page comes from a document listed below. We do not take positions, endorse candidates, or recommend how to vote. The yes and no lines say what each result does, in matching words, and nothing more. Where an official, an organization or a news outlet makes a claim, we say who said it.
Issues 8, 9 and 13 were verified October 4, 2026. Issues 3, 16, 17, 18 and 19 were written October 7, 2026.