Turnout just over 25 percent in 2026 Lorain County primary election

Just over a quarter of eligible Lorain County voters turned out for Tuesday's primary election. Turnout was 25.3 percent, which beat the estimates of county elections officials who said 21 to 22 percent was expected. The results of the election will not be certified by the Lorain County Board of Elections for another two weeks. The Republican primary for Lorain County commissioner remains very close and is likely to result in an automatic recount once the final outstanding votes are tallied. Incumbent Commissioner Jeff Riddell leads challenger Will Schlechter by 17 votes. Riddell has 9,677 votes to Schlechter's 9,660, according to unofficial results from the Board of Elections, with 98 provisional Republican ballots still to be counted. They were among 293 provisionals outstanding, will a smaller number of overseas and military ballots still to arrive and/or to be counted. Among provisionals, Elections Director Lisette Gracia said there were also 165 Democratic ballots, 24 issues-only ballots and six Libertarian ballots. Those will be reviewed by the board on May 14, she said. Party affiliation is determined by a voter's actions in a primary. Tuesday's election was the first time since 2020 that more Democrats cast ballots in a Lorain County primary election than Republicans in a midterm or presidential election year. There were 28,124 Democratic ballots cast and 23,061 Republican ballots cast. Numbers suggest some unaffiliated or Republican voters pulled Democratic ballots, as Lorain County had only 25,811 registered Democratic voters ahead of Tuesday's primary. Schlechter v. Riddell Schlechter won Lorain County's townships and villages easily. He pulled 4,322 votes to 2,571 votes for Riddell in those municipalities. A farmer and Firelands school board member, Schlechter has spoken out against developing a portion of New Russia Township into a mega site for future industrial development, a project Riddell supports. Schlechter beat Riddell in both New Russia Township, where Riddell's pro-development stance has been unpopular, and Henrietta Township which both men call home. Riddell came out on top in the cities. He won Avon, Avon Lake, Elyria, Lorain, North Ridgeville and Sheffield Lake, while Schlechter took Amherst, Oberlin and Vermilion.A businessman, Riddell was elected in 2022 and is seeking a second consecutive term as commissioner. Baker v. White Carolyn White, a banker, defeated Brian Baker of Brownhelm Township in the Democratic primary for commissioner. She will face the winner of the Riddell-Schlechter race. White got 12,525 votes to Baker's 12,137, according to unofficial results, with the remaining uncounted Democratic ballots not enough to change the outcome. White won in Avon, Avon Lake, Lorain, North Ridgeville, Sheffield Lake and Vermillion, while Baker won Amherst, Elyria and Oberlin. It was 2,539 votes for Baker to 2,210 votes for White in the county's townships and villages, according to unofficial results. Baker, a longtime union official, defeated White by a small number of votes in Sheffield, where she lives and formerly served on Village Council. Both candidates previously ran for commissioner in 2024. What's next? Military and overseas ballots have until Saturday to arrive at the Board of Elections to be counted, Gracia said. That's also the deadline for voters to fix or "cure" ballot errors that were identified by elections officials. The Board of Elections will meet at 3 p.m. May 14 at board offices, 1985 North Ridge Road in Sheffield Township, for a post-election meeting to review absentee and provisional ballots. The results of the primary will be certified May 19. The general election ballot will be certified and ballot issues numbered in August. The general election is Nov. 3. There are 214,138 registered voters in Lorain County. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com