A look at early voting in Lorain

Democrats are out in force, even in the south

As the May 8 primary election approaches the Lorain County Elections Board reports Democratic voters are more active in early voting than their Republican counterparts.

In fact, according to Director Paul Adams, most of the few Republican-leaning areas in the county are showing higher numbers of Democratic early voting ballots than normal.

“Democrat turnout appears to be outpacing Republican turnout in the vast majority of the county, even in places we usually see Republicans do better such as Avon, Avon Lake and in the townships,” Adams wrote in an email containing the number of early votes to date. “Republicans currently hold an edge in just one of the county’s cities, North Ridgeville.”

Overall, 6,084 ballots have been cast in the contest, 3,486 Democratic and 2,174 Republican; with only 12 Green party ballots and 412 non-partisan ballots which only contain the issues.

According to Adams, these numbers are “relatively light.”

“It’s picking up now that we’re in the last week before the election, so things are getting to be a little steady,” he said in an interview with The Morning Journal May 3.

Adams ascribes the lower numbers to the lack of levy increase issues on the ballot.

“In previous primary elections in off-election years like this one, sometimes that turnout is pushed by local additional tax levies for school districts or for

cities,” he said. “This particular election, there are a handful of tax levies on the ballot, but none of them are additional.”

As for the future, Adams said the Elections Board was looking to hopefully buy some new voting machines with some state and local funds, possibly in 2019. The machines currently used were purchased in 2005 and will soon be obsolete.

“Right now there is a bill in the General Assembly that passed the Senate, it’s now in the House, that would provide $114 million for county boards of elections and counties to purchase new voting equipment,” he said. “Now that doesn’t cover the whole cost, counties are going to have to provide some additional funding for that, but that will be the lion’s share of the cost.”

Adams said the bill has bipartisan support, and he hopes some time over the summer the county will have a more complete idea of exact numbers and where it’s headed.

The county currently uses a touch screen system, whereas Cuyahoga County and others use what is called an optical scan system. This means when a Cuyahoga voter reaches the polls they are given a paper ballot with bubbles to be filled in on it; much like absentee ballots in Lorain County.

According to Adams, the Election Board is looking into a so-called hybrid system.

“You’d receive a paper card, very similar to the old punch cards, insert that into a touch screen system and then you’d make your selection on a touch screen,” he said. “Then the ballot would come back out, you’d be able to look at it and say, ‘Ok, yes I voted for candidate A, I voted yes or no on this particular issue’ and then there would be a ballot bin that you put it into.”

According to Adams, the county is looking into this new technology because the voters seem to like the touch screen system and the cost of printing ballots in both English and Spanish.