Ohio early voting begins

Total of 197 In-person ballots cast in Lorain County on 1st day

Early in-person voting started Oct. 7 with a steady flow of voters casting ballots at the Lorain County Board of Elections.

The board logged 197 people coming in on Ohio’s first day that voters could cast a ballot at the elections board office for the Nov. 4 general election.

“It was what I expected,” said Paul Adams, director of the Lorain County Board of Elections.

“It was steady all day long,” he said. “We had a handful of people lined up to vote at eight in the morning.

“There were no real long lines but it was steady throughout,” Adams said. “The entire day, always people in the voting room, always people walking in the door.”

Due to last minute changes in the early in-person voting hours, there were a few questions from voters, Adams said. However, the voting hours have been posted online, on the board door and through news media coverage, so it was not a large number of voters with questions, he said.

The board’s normal business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but the office will stay open until 5 p.m., or be open on weekends, to accommo- date the early in-person voting.

Anyone in line as of the closing time will be permitted to vote, Adams said.

Voters casting ballots at the board office do not need to bring identification, but must know the last four digits of their Social Security number or driver’s license number, Adams said.

Voting will be: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays in October. The board of elections will be closed Oct. 13 for Columbus Day.

Early in-person voting will be allowed 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Nov. 1.

Early in-person voting will be allowed 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2.

The board office will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3, but early in-person voting ends at 2 p.m. that day.

The board office is at 1985 North Ridge Road East, Sheffield Township.

The elections board website is: www.

loraincountyelections.com. Information is available in English and Spanish.

More voting information is also available at the website of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/

Meanwhile, political season is in full swing with various groups holding candidate nights around Lorain County.

The Coalition of Hispanic/Latino Issues and Progress will host its candidate night 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at El Centro de Servicios Sociales, 2800 Pearl Ave., Lorain. The moderators will be David Arredondo, Antonio Barrios and Mary Santiago. The event is open to the public. The Lake Erie Landlord Association also held its candidate night Oct. 7 at the Elyria Ramada Inn.