Lorain County Voters Will See Bilingual Touch Screen, Absentee Ballots

With an increased amount of Hispanics in Lorain County, the Lorain County Board of Elections will present one bilingual ballot for absentee voting for the first time countywide, on March 6. Touch screens will also have Spanish and English options

Avon Lake voters first saw a bilingual absentee ballots and touch screen options in the

Lorain County Board of Elections Director Paul Adams said Lorain County voters who requested an absentee ballot prior to the December elections could request either a Spanish or English ballot.

“Last November election we were required to provide an option for absentee ballots for Spanish,” Adams said. That meant voters could request a Spanish or English absentee ballot. Now there will be just one larger, bilingual ballot.

“In some places, those ballots will be two pages,” Adams said.

And Lorain County voters in the primary election will see an option to proceed in Spanish or English if they are using touch screens at a polling location.

According to the 2010 Census data, Lorain County has more than 17,000 Puerto Ricans, a 60 percent increase since 1990.