Harris Township is one of the twelve townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Ottawa County

Ottawa County, Ohio

Ottawa County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,428. Its county seat is Port Clinton and is named either for the Ottawa Indians who lived there, or for an Indian word meaning "trader"....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 3,009 people in the township, 1,583 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Benton Township
  Benton Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Benton Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,621 people in the township, 2,232 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Salem Township
  Salem Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Salem Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,517 people in the township, 2,676 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - east
• Rice Township, Sandusky County
  Rice Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Rice Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 1,437 people lived in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county along Sandusky Bay, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southeast corner
• Washington Township, Sandusky County
  Washington Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Washington Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 2,396 people lived in the township, 1,769 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Woodville Township, Sandusky County
  Woodville Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Woodville Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 3,304 people lived in the township, 1,327 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest
• Clay Township
  Clay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Clay Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,118 people in the township, 2,888 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northwest

Most of the village of Elmore

Elmore, Ohio

Elmore is a village in Ottawa and Sandusky counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,426 at the 2000 census.The Ottawa County portion of Elmore is part of the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Sandusky County portion is part of the Fremont Micropolitan Statistical...

 is located in the western part of the township.

The Portage River

Portage River (Ohio)

Approximately in length, the Portage River meanders across Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood counties in northwest Ohio before it empties into Lake Erie at Port Clinton...

 and the Ohio Turnpike

Ohio Turnpike

The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...

also pass through Harris Township.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.