Low turnout predicted for primary election

ELYRIA — Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today for Lorain County residents eligible to vote in what is expected to be a primary election with a single-digit turnout.Elections officials said 134,404 voters out of 217,157 registered are eligible to vote today because their political subdivisions have issues on the ballot or candidates running for office. There will be 55 polling locations open. Elections Director Paul Adams said all are listed on the board's website under the "Polling Place Lookup" tab. There will be a message posted reminding potential voters that not all areas of the county have issues or candidates on the ballot with a map of "what is and what isn't open," Adams said in a Zoom call with Chronicle-Telegram staff. At the polls, COVID-19 health and safety precautions that were in place in November will remain in place for this round of elections. Adams said there will be signage stating the precautions and masks will be available at the polls for those who don't have them. Poll workers also will be sanitizing equipment after every use. There is one polling place change. Voters who would normally cast their ballots at the Learwood Middle School, 340 Lear Road in Avon Lake, now are being asked to go to Holy Spirit Parish at 410 Lear Road. The Avon Lake School District asked elections officials to make the change because the school gymnasium currently is being used for classroom instruction so students and staff can maintain a safe social distance, Adams said. Adams said all affected voters were sent notices April 7 with a map and address of the new location. There will be poll workers at both the school and the church to direct voters in case they have any questions or are confused, he said. Early voting has been slow. Elections officials said 1,217 people had cast ballots by mail as of 1 p.m. Monday. Another 756 had cast ballots in person at the board offices at 1985 North Ridge Road in Sheffield Township. The drop box adjacent to the board offices will be available up until 7:30 p.m. today for voters wishing to drop off completed ballots. Staff members will be there at the 7:30 p.m. deadline to ensure anyone who has dropped off their ballot gets it collected and counted. Turnout is expected to be low: Adams said he hopes turnout will hit 9 percent, with Vermilion's three-way, nonpartisan mayoral race and the six-way Republican primary for at-large seats on North Ridgeville City Council leading the charge. Four years ago, a four-way nonpartisan primary for Vermilion mayor counted for fully 25 percent of votes cast, Adams said. Deputy Elections Director Jim Kramer said he's "hoping for the best," but believes turnout will be somewhere between 8 and 9 percent. Adams said similar primary elections four, eight and 12 years ago, had lower turnouts. Four years ago, the primary "didn't even break 8 percent turnout," he said, and those eight and 12 years ago both ended with slightly more than 10 percent of eligible registered voters casting ballots. Results for today's races are expected between 10 and 10:30 p.m. There are two Democratic candidates in Elyria's 5th Ward, multiple Republican candidates for Lorain and North Ridgeville city councils and a non-partisan mayoral race in Vermilion pitting three candidates against each other. Avon Lake, Lorain, Oberlin and Sheffield Lake voters will see municipal levies on their ballots, as well as three charter amendments in Sheffield Lake. There also are levies asking for road, bridge, FIRE and EMS money on the ballot in Amherst, Brighton, Camden, Columbia and Sheffield townships. The Avon Lake and Lorain public libraries, the Central and South Lorain County ambulance districts and the Clearview schools also are asking voters to renew existing levies that won't increase taxes. Adams said primary elections are among the "most complicated" for elections officials because of the many different-style ballots needed, and the need to make sure individual precincts or split precincts have the right supplies and ballots. While smaller in scale, "it's much more complicated than a presidential or gubernatorial election," he said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.