Election Day In Westlake: When, Where To Vote

Cleveland OH

02 November, 2020

10:51 AM

Description

WESTLAKE, OH — Ohioans will again play a pivotal role in deciding the future of the U.S. and their own communities during the Nov. 3 general election. The headline-grabbing decision, of course, will be the presidential race between incumbent Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden. The bellwether of the nation, many Americans will be eager to see where the Buckeye State swings on that fateful Tuesday. Tuesday's election will have more than just a sweeping national impact. There are plenty of local decisions to be made in communities around Ohio. Learn more about the upcoming election below. Local Races in Westlake Westlake voters will pick their representative to the U.S. House, either incumbent Anthony Gonzalez, a Republican or challenger Aaron Paul Godfrey, a Democrat. Westlake voters will also decide two Ohio legislature contests. For state senator, the choice will be between Matt Dolan, a Republican and Tom Jackson, a Democrat. For state representative, the choice will be between Dave Greenspan, a Republican and Monique Smith, a Democrat. Westlake voters will also decide the fate of several charter amendments. The amendments would: Clarify the powers of the mayor, saying the mayor does not have control over city council or the law directorOne of the amendments would change language in the charter saying the mayor shall have "control" over departments. The proposal would shift the language to "supervise" departmentsIf the position of mayor is suddenly vacant (due to a health crisis, for instance), the president of city council would be come interim mayor. If the president of council cannot assume the role of interim mayor, the law director would take on the positionGive council flexibility in when regular meetings are heldClarify that the city's law director is elected and not appointed by the mayorReduce the number of signatures needed to run for elected office in the city from 500 signatures to 250 signaturesChange the threshold for winning the office of mayor in Westlake to 40 percent of the vote; if more than two candidates run and no one achieves 40 percent of the vote, there will be a run-off between the top two candidates Election Day Polls will open at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 and close at 7:30 p.m. To find your polling place, use this interactive map shared by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website. With COVID-19 still threatening the populace, Ohio's general election could be less busy than ever. Approximately 5.5 million Ohioans voted overall in 2016. Nearly 3 million early votes have already been cast in Ohio. After early concern about lacking sufficient poll workers for Nov. 3, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced 56,789 Ohioans have been trained to work the general election. The statewide goal for the election was to have 55,165 trained poll workers. However, five counties had not yet met their minimum number of poll workers by Oct. 30: Ashtabula, Greene, Jackson, Pike, and Vinton. "Ohioans are stepping up to serve as poll workers this election season at a pace never seen before, showing the world the civic engagement and can-do sense of public service our state has always exemplified," LaRose said. "We will continue supporting our counties however we can, while holding the bipartisan board of elections accountable, so that voters who haven't already cast their ballot will have a safe and positive experience at their polling locations next Tuesday." Early Voting Early voting for the upcoming general election began Oct. 6 in Ohio. Early in-person voting ended Monday. Nearly 3 million early votes have been cast in Ohio, according to the U.S. Elections Project. In 2016, 1.8 million absentee ballots were cast in Ohio. Election officials can begin scanning absentee ballots as they are received, but those votes are not tabulated until the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3. Each one of Ohio's 88 counties had its own designated site for in-person early voting. For most counties, that site was the county board of elections. Absentee ballots are available to all registered Ohio voters. Poll workers will count absentee votes first on election night. The deadline to request an absentee ballot was three days before the Nov. 3 election. To be counted, absentee ballots must be postmarked the day before the election (meaning they must be postmarked by Monday). Ohioans who requested an absentee ballot but wish to vote early and in-person had to vote via provisional ballot.