Voters share election experiences

When Sue Holland cast her ballot at the New Haven Baptist Church precinct Nov. 4, it was more than an election year exercise for the Sheffield Village resident.

“It’s such a privilege for this country, I just feel that people should vote,” Holland said. “Voting could not be simpler, and since I’m still able to get out on such a nice day, I find it to be pleasant.”

Kreig J. Brusnahan, also of Sheffield Village, also voted.

“Unless I’m working on Election Day, I always prefer to vote,” Brusnahan said.

Sheffield Village Mayor John Hunter voted Nov. 4.

“This is where democracy starts,” Hunter said. “People are here due to the fact that they’re fed up with the negative commercials and they want to see change.”

Lorain City resident Shakida Coleman, who voted at Longfellow Middle School in Lorain, said younger people need to know the power of the vote.

“I want to set a good example for my children, especially for our future generation,” said Coleman, a Democrat. “The reason I vote is because it’s very important that all citizens participate and decide how our community, state or country is run.

“I also feel that it’s crucial because at (one) time, women weren’t given this right to vote or even voice their opinion.”

Gary Martin, of Lorain, agreed.

“It’s my duty, and should be all American citizens’ duty to vote if we want to improve where we live and what is important,” Martin said.

Joe Dougherty, a non partisan Lorain resident, has voted in several elections “because there are candidates that run for good reasons and prove that they can help better our community or state.”

Dougherty said he supports levies that improve mental health issues, and parks and recreation.

“If you’re an American, you’d like to believe you can make a difference,” said Candy Adams of Vermilion. “Voting is your big chance to make a difference, not just for yourself, but for the guy next door.”

Adams said that she supported Issue 6, a 1.6-mill renewal levy by Lorain County Board of Mental Health.

“As long as children are reaping the benefits from it, I’m for the issue,” she said.

For Andris Krumins, of Vermilion, the election offered him a chance to have his voice heard.

“We can still have a chance to reverse things we don’t like,” Krumins said. “If we don’t vote we don’t have a chance.”

Mixed reaction for ID’s

Linda Knapp of Sheffield Village says she supports voter identification laws.

“There is a lot of voter fraud that I don’t think we know about,” Knapp said, adding voter ID laws will protect the democratic process against fraud.

Ellen Noble, of Elyria, who voted at Spitzer Center at Lorain County Community College, said ID’s should be required.

“For every good and appropriate measure taken to benefit all, there are those who interrupt these measures.”

David and Laura Clark voted at Spitzer Center and believe voting fraud exists.

Anybody can get an ID, Laura Clark said. Some voters disagreed. “Voter fraud is one of those overblown issues,” said Brusnahan, who was on the voter protection council for the John Kerry for president campaign in 2004.

“I went to court on alleged voter fraud originating in Oberlin,” he said. “There was an allegation of a student attempting to use someone else’s name to vote. It turns out the voter shared the exact name as someone else.” The case was dismissed. Elyria resident David Britt, who voted at the Spitzer Center, dispelled the need for voter IDs.

“There are no proven instances of voter fraud,” Britt said.

Missing election signs

Outside of the Joyce E. Hanks Community Civic Center, Sheffield Lake resident Rosa Gee complained about the missing election signs.

Gee, a Democratic Precinct Committee member and community activist, said she had placed the signs of FitzGerald and county commission candidate Matt Lundy in the designated areas on the night of Nov. 3 and they were missing on the next morning.

“My husband and I spent a long time placing signs last night, and now we’re picking them up off the side of the road. I even took pictures last night of all the signs we put up.”

Lorain County Community College journalism students Kelsey Boyer, Briana Contreras, Alex Delaney-Gesing, Lonnie Foland, Kristin Hohman, Tiara McGuire, Karl Schneider, Brenna Shippy and Melissa Swindell contributed to this story.