Libraries Win in Ohio, Books Win in Texas: A Big Week at the Ballot Box

EveryLibrary remains dedicated to helping libraries and community leaders across the country navigate the ballot process through expert training, advocacy, and strategic support. This work is only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters.

$5 a month is all it takes for us to provide pro-bono support for libraries at the ballot box.

Ohio voters once again delivered a strong vote of confidence in their public libraries on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Of the fourteen library funding measures on ballots across thirteen library systems, twelve passed. Most cleared the 60 percent mark, and the average win rate landed at 61 percent. That kind of margin is meaningful in any year, but it carries extra weight right now. With state funding more uncertain than it has been in decades, local levies have become the financial backbone of library service, and Ohioans clearly understand the assignment.

CUYAHOGA FALLS LIBRARY, OH

Cuyahoga Falls Library: Voters considered a 2.2-mill, five-year additional property tax levy to support library operations.

Vote Total: YES: 69.91% NO: 30.09%

This was a major win for the Cuyahoga Falls community and for the library that has anchored it for more than a century. The new levy replaces the existing 1.9-mill operating levy that voters first approved in 2011 and that was set to expire at the end of 2026. The library's tax levy had not increased in fifteen years, even as inflation, building costs, and patron demand all climbed.

EveryLibrary worked directly with the Cuyahoga Falls Library and library supporters across both phases of the ballot effort. On the information-only side, our team provided training and direct support to the library's board and staff, along with educational resources for community supporters who wanted to talk to their neighbors about what was actually on the ballot and what was at stake. On the vote yes campaign side, EveryLibrary worked directly with the ballot committee, providing strategic guidance, training, and ongoing campaign support through Election Day. The result… a nearly seven-in-ten approval rate. This reflects what's possible when a trusted community institution, a well-prepared local committee, and a clear case for support all line up.

LIBRARY WINS FROM EVERY CORNER OF OHIO

The broader picture across the state was just as encouraging. Hudson Library and Historical Society won approval for its renewal-with-increase levy in Summit County with 64.92 percent of the vote. The Lorain Public Library System did especially well across its service area: the Main Library and South Lorain Branch renewal passed with 70.32 percent, the Domonkas Branch additional levy in Sheffield Lake passed with 67.88 percent, the Avon Lake Public Library renewal passed with 69.90 percent, and the Oberlin Public Library renewal passed with 79.53 percent, the highest margin of any library measure on the ballot statewide. That Lorain County sweep matters because four library issues on a single county's ballot is an unusual concentration, and voters approved every single one.

Bluffton Public Library in Allen County won its 1-mill, ten-year additional levy with 67.4 percent, ensuring continued operating support for a library that gets more than a quarter of its annual revenue from local property taxes. Rock Creek Public Library in Ashtabula County passed with about 58 percent. Renewals for Piqua Public Library in Miami County, Reed Memorial Library in Portage County, and Dover Public Library in Tuscarawas County added to the night's wins, alongside an operating levy for Southwest Public Libraries in Franklin County.

Two measures fell short, both by narrow margins. Voters rejected a proposed additional levy for the Norwalk Public Library. The 1.7-mill, 30-year levy sought funding for renovating, remodeling, and furnishing the library. Voters also rejected a 0.5 mill levy to support the Washington County Public Library. The defeat means the library now has to figure out how to maintain an aging building without the funding source it had asked voters to approve.

Library levies in Ohio have a long track record of voter approval. Tuesday's results extend that pattern, but they do so during a period of real transition for library funding in the state. With property tax levies now covering more than half of all public library funding across Ohio, every successful local campaign is doing more than keeping the lights on. It is keeping the entire library service infrastructure of the state intact while policymakers figure out what comes next at the state level.

Our ballot measure work returns over $1,600 to libraries for every dollar we raise.

That means a $5 monthly donation secures almost $100,000 for libraries.

PRO-ACCESS CANDIDATES SWEEP CONTESTED TEXAS SCHOOL BOARD RACES 

In addition, Texas had a good showing of book-loving school board candidates on Saturday, May 3. Across the state, moderate pro-access candidates saw wins, ousting more extremist incumbents in some of the most contested districts like Grapevine Colleyville in north Texas, which had been taken over by Patriot Mobile backed candidates (as depicted in The Librarians documentary), NorthEast ISD in San Antonio which had been subject to significant book removals, and Katy ISD outside of Houston, which had been plagued by board turmoil and restrictive library policies. Katy elected its first African American woman board member as well.  Rural Llano ISD’s candidates, who were backed by a local influential censorship advocate, also lost their races. With only a couple of exceptions, 

Texas school board elections once again demonstrated that Texans want moderate candidates who care about the business of running school districts, not extremists. 

EveryLibrary supported the Texas Freedom to Read Project’s school board candidate survey again this cycle, which shared non-partisan responses from candidates to a slate of questions about reading in schools.