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With no statewide issues on the ballot and little interest in races and local issues, turnout in the Nov. 2 general election is expected to be low in Mahoning counties and of Trumbull, according to the returning officers.
“It is so important to vote in local races because they impact your life more than anything else,” said Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull County Electoral Council. “It’s the people who fix your potholes, not the president. I am very concerned about participation.
Early voting begins Tuesday.
Joyce Kale-Pesta, director of the Mahoning County Election Council, said, “It’s disappointing when people don’t come to vote in local elections. People don’t understand that local issues are important to them. Local issues affect them the most. This is what affects your life. It is not the president or the candidates of the state. Local issues have the most impact on people.
Kale-Pesta predicted that the turnout in this election would not exceed 30 percent in Mahoning while Penrose said it should be around 25 percent in Trumbull.
In the 2013 general election, the turnout in Mahoning was 29.47% and 24.69% in Trumbull.
It jumped in 2015 to 44.21% in Mahoning and 47.32 in Trumbull. But three statewide issues, including an unsuccessful effort to legalize recreational marijuana, led to participation in that election, Penrose and Kale-Pesta said.
In 2017, Mahoning’s turnout was 33.28%, while Trumbull’s had a 30.87% turnout with two statewide issues including an unsuccessful vote to change costs. prescription drugs.
In 2019, with no issues statewide, turnout was 26.63% in Mahoning and 30.25% in Trumbull.
A LITTLE INTEREST
The few races that could result in participation in Mahoning County, Kale-Pesta said, are administrator races in Austintown and Boardman, the two most populous townships, and possibly school board meetings in some communities. .
She doesn’t see the county-wide 0.25 percent five-year sales and use tax for road improvements that get people to vote.
“I don’t think it will drive him that much,” Kale-Pesta said. “People are fed up with the roads not being fixed, and there doesn’t seem to be much opposition to that.”
Penrose said some of the Trumbull County Trustees’ races will draw voters to places like Hubbard, Howland, Champion and Fowler.
But several communities in Trumbull County do not have competitive races for council or administrator, which could prevent people from voting, she said.
Penrose expects levies and tax issues to be the main reasons voters in Trumbull County have voted – especially the additional and replacement levies.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Ohio County Election Boards will remain open until 9 p.m. Monday to allow people to register to vote in the general election. This is the last day to register for this election for those who are not already registered on the electoral roll.
The Trumbull office is located at 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren.
The Mahoning office is located at Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.
To register in person, you need either your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your social security number.
People can also register online at voteohio.gov, the website for the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, by Monday.
“We had a bit of interest in people signing up, but not a lot,” Kale-Pesta said.
EARLY VOTING
Early voting begins on Tuesday, with electoral councils processing mail-in ballot requests from that day.
In addition, early in-person voting begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday at council offices.
Early in-person voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, October 12 to 15 and October 18 to 22. (There is no advance voting in person on October 11 due to Columbus Day.)
Hours are extended from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. from October 25 to 29.
Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 30, the Saturday before the election, and 1 to 5 p.m. on October 31, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 1.
Polling stations are open from 6.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. on November 2.
Penrose and Kale-Pesta expect more people to vote by mail because they have gotten used to it, especially after last year, and because of concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With the pandemic going on, we will be voting a lot of people by mail,” Penrose said. “They learned in the presidential election (last year) that it’s easy, simple, and that they don’t need to be around other people.”
As for the in-person vote, Penrose said, “I expect it to be a little busy, but not very. Usually there are a lot of people the first week, then it slows down.
Kale-Pesta said absentee requests to vote by mail “are very, very slow. Because of COVID, people will likely vote by mail more often. We saw this last year.
She urged people to vote in person at the election office.
“It’s so fast,” Kale-Pesta said. “It only takes five minutes to do it. “
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