Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Early voting in Northeast Ohio continued to draw long lines at county boards of elections over the weekend, Joe Biden will spend part of his final campaign push in Cleveland Monday, Ohio reported around 3,300 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, and more stories.

In Cleveland, Canton, and Akron, the Boards of Elections served thousands of people.

Last night, as early voting continues, a federal court in Cleveland gave boards of elections the green light to set up ballot drop boxes at secure and...

Voting rights groups attempting to expand access to ballot drop boxes in Ohio's election are getting a second chance to make their case.

Updated: 11:50 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020 The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will not collect completed ballots at local libraries this fall, despite a federal judge’s ruling this week that seemed to allow it, a board member told ideastream Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster interpreted a recent state election directive more broadly than Secretary of State Frank LaRose intended, Democratic board member Inajo Davis Chappell said.

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In Ohio, any registered voter can vote absentee, either by mail or in person at their county board of elections beginning Oct. 6. Given concerns about coronavirus, more folks are expected to opt for the mail this year. More than 1 million voters have already submitted a vote-by-mail application, though the deadline to ask for the mail-in ballots isn’t until Oct. 31.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office is freezing a plan from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to collect absentee ballots at local libraries this fall. The board’s move was meant to ease pressure on the U.S. Postal Service and at the county’s sole drop box at the board’s Cleveland headquarters. The plan came as boards across the state face a large, early surge in absentee ballot requests amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has already received a surge of absentee ballot applications for the Nov. 3 election, as more voters than usual move to make their decisions remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. As of last week, the board had processed 40,000 ballot applications, Director Anthony Perlatti told ideastream Monday.

Cuyahoga County election officials are considering changes in preparation for the November general election, but much is unknown until the secretary of state issues instructions. According to Tony Perlatti, director of the county’s board of elections, they are expecting at this point to hold in-person voting on Election Day in November with six-foot spacing between voting booths.