Early in-person voting ends this weekend at Lorain County Board of Elections

Including Friday, there are only three more days left for early, in-person voting at the Lorain County Board of Elections ahead of Tuesday's primary. The Board of Elections, at 1985 North Ridge Road in Sheffield Township, said as of Wednesday, it had processed 6,280 early absentee/in-person voters — a much-lower early voting turnout than in November, Elections Director Paul Adams said in a news release. "We definitely are not seeing the near-record turnout we did this past November," Adams said. "There are several communities with city and school issues, as well as a few with candidates on the ballot. There is also a state issue on the ballot. Voters can go to our website to look up their sample ballot, as well as search for their polling location. A few locations have changed since November." Adams reminded voters that on Election Day, the electronic pollbooks used to check-in voters at the polling locations will not be used for this election. Check-in will be done via the paper pollbook system, a process that hasn't been used for nearly 10 years. That change is due to a recent Ohio Secretary of State directive telling county boards of elections they can't use their electronic pollbooks on Election Day. The change is due to an investigation of one voter check-in tablet, often called an electronic pollbook, that was purchased by the Perry County Board of Elections in that county southeast of Columbus. Voters should know that the process to check-in on Election Day could take twice as long or longer than it normally takes because the electronic pollbooks can't be used, so early in-person voting this weekend at the Board of Elections is encouraged. The last remaining early, in-person voting hours at the Board of Elections offices before Tuesday's primary are: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. There is no early, in-person voting Monday. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or or before Monday. Vote-by-mail ballots will not be accepted at polling locations on Election Day. The deadline to hand-deliver vote-by-mail ballots to the Board of Elections is 7:30 p.m. Election Day. A ballot drop box is available 24 hours a day on the south end of the parking lot of the Board of Elections offices. Voters who did not vote early in-person or by mail must go to their designated polling location between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to cast a vote. If you are unsure of your polling location, check the Board of Elections website at www.voteloraincountyohio.gov. Photo identification is required to vote on Election Day. That includes a valid, unexpired Ohio driver's license; a state ID card; an interim ID form issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles; a U.S. passport or passport card; a U.S. military ID card; an Ohio National Guard ID card; or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card that includes the voter's name and photograph. A mobile ID is not an acceptable form of identification. For more information, visit www.voteloraincountyohio.gov.