While giving a demonstration of the new electronic voting machines, Lois Enlow, director of the Portage County Board of Elections, said misspelled votes for write-in candidates will be counted in the Tuesday election, as long as the name is close to that of a legitimate write-in candidate.

Portage County looks at voters’ intentions when they cast their ballots, Enlow said. This has been the case for punch-card ballots and now will be applied to the electronic machines.

The county will have 621 electronic voting machines, manufactured by Diebold, distributed for election night. Voters can show support for a write-in candidate by using an on-screen keyboard to type the candidate’s name.

– Kristin Lindsey