Early in-person voting for the November 3 general election has entered its final week in Lake County, with the Board of Elections in Painesville offering extended hours through Sunday, November 1, when early voting ends. The board’s office, at 105 Main St., Suite 107 in Painesville, is the county’s only early in-person voting location.
The final-week schedule steps up from the weekday hours voters saw earlier this month. Voting runs Monday, October 26 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., then Tuesday, October 27 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. — the longest day of the early-voting period. Hours return to 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, October 28 to 30, followed by Saturday, October 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a final session Sunday, November 1 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday carries a second deadline Lake County voters should not miss: absentee ballot applications must be received by the Board of Elections by 8:30 p.m. on October 27. Voters who still need an application can call the board at 440-350-2700 and have one mailed to them, and voters can check their registration, find their Election Day polling place and track an absentee ballot through the board’s website.
Lake County’s November 3 ballot pairs the statewide races and State Issue 3 with the county’s own candidates and questions and issues, and the board has posted its official candidate list, questions-and-issues list and sample ballots online so voters can review exactly what they will see before they arrive. Military and overseas absentee voting began September 18, and regular absentee voting by mail and early in-person voting both opened October 6, the day after the registration deadline.
Getting to the polls is free for Lake County voters this cycle. Laketran is offering complimentary rides on all of its local routes and its Dial-a-Ride door-to-door service both to the Board of Elections for early voting and to polling locations on Election Day — riders on local routes simply tell the driver they are traveling to vote, while Dial-a-Ride trips require a reservation, made one to 14 business days in advance by calling 440-350-1000.
“By offering free rides for both early voting and Election Day, we’re helping to eliminate transportation barriers for voters,” Laketran CEO Ben Capelle said when the program was announced. Geauga Transit is running a matching free-ride offer for voters in neighboring Geauga County.
After early voting closes Sunday afternoon, Lake County’s remaining option is Election Day itself: all county polling locations will be open Tuesday, November 3 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters who have already requested an absentee ballot should follow the board’s return instructions closely and allow time for mail delivery, or return the ballot in person to the board office in Painesville.