I'm writing to encourage you to vote in tomorrow's historic primary election in Cuyahoga County. This election will begin to shape a new form of government for the county and its future.

Since this is a primary, if you are affiliated with a political party, you will vote only for candidates for nomination by your party for the general election on November 2nd.  If you are independent of any party you may still vote an "issues only" ballot if there are issues on the ballot in your precinct.

There are a large number of candidates who have been certified to run for county executive and county council from a total of four political parties (Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Green) that are holding primaries tomorrow. When you sign in at your polling place (to find your polling location, click here), you may declare a party and vote in the primary election of the party you choose.  If you are changing parties, Ohio law requires you to sign a declaration that you are doing so. For more information about the races, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections' website provides specific information including an option to view the ballot you will receive.

One change you might notice at the polls is that signs and sample bilingual ballots in English and Spanish will be available in 71 precincts of Cuyahoga County, along with the assistance of Spanish speaking poll workers in those precincts. This is the result of a negotiated consent decree between the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections and the U.S. Department of Justice.  Bilingual voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications will be ready for use in Ohio in the next two weeks.  For downloadable registration and voting information for Spanish speaking voters of limited English proficiency, please click here.

Cuyahoga County is looking toward a bright future. Be a part of it, and vote tomorrow.

Jennifer Brunner
Ohio Secretary of State

PS - As I prepare for my last general election season as your Secretary of State, you can help me encourage voter participation. Please join me on Monday, September 13, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. for an Education, Registration, and Mobilization event, to be held at Cleveland State University, Division of Continuing Education, Joseph Cole Center (3100 Chester Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio  44115). For more information or to RSVP, please send an e-mail to CRO [at] sos [dot] state [dot] oh [dot] us.