Voter turnout in Mahoning Valley for the next election should exceed 50 percent, local boards of electoral directors say.
Early voting for the November 8 election begins Wednesday.
Voters will turn out this election largely in the US Senate showdown between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican JD Vance and the gubernatorial race between incumbent Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Nan Whaley, they said. the functionaries. There is also interest in certain races and local issues, they said.
“We will be close to 54 percent”, said Tom McCabe, director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections. “We are getting a lot of requests for absentee ballots. We are seeing this statewide with high volumes of leave requests.”
Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections, expects the turnout to be around 55 percent, though she said it could be higher.
“This is going to be a really busy election,” she said. “Go out and vote, and make my projection too low.”
PREVIOUS ELECTIONS
These predictions align with the 2018 election, the last time every state executive branch seat was on the ballot, as well as a contested US Senate race.
The share that year was 53.84 percent in Trumbull and 54.72 percent in Mahoning.
In the 2014 election, the previous year with all state executive branch seats on the ballot but no Senate race, turnout in Trumbull was 40.81 percent and in Mahoning 41.51 percent.
“We will be more with the number of 2018 due to the race for the Senate”, McCabe said. “The Senate race is a big draw. People also come out for the gubernatorial race and across the state. There is much more interest in the general election than in the primaries.”
Penrose said the gubernatorial race is drawing interest because of DeWine’s re-election bid.
“There will be Republicans defecting and Democrats crossing over to support him because of the way he handled COVID.” she said. “People either love him for it or hate him for it.”
Among the local races of interest, McCabe cited the races for the county’s two state House seats and for the state Senate.
In Trumbull County, ballot tax levies, particularly for new money, will also appeal to voters, Penrose said.
Additional tax levies are on the ballots in the townships of Bristol, Brookfield, Howland; the town of Newton Falls and two in the Lakeview school district. There is also an additional countywide park district levy.
EARLY VOTING HOURS
Early voting in person is from 8 am to 5 pm Wednesday through Friday, as well as October 17-21 and October 24-28. It’s from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 29.
It is from 8 am to 7 pm from October 31 to November 4.
Early voting on November 5, the Saturday before the May 3 primary, is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It is from 1 to 5 pm on November 6 and from 8 am to 2 pm on November 7.
“We are going to have a lot of people voting early,” Penrose said.
There could also be a problem with some confused voters, since the Ohio secretary of state sent all registered voters an application to cast their ballot by mail that had to be submitted to county boards of elections, Penrose said.
“What we’re going to get is a lot of people who didn’t realize they applied for an absentee ballot and then they’re going to go out and vote.” she said.
McCabe said he expects the first few days of early voting to be busy.
“We always do very well to begin with”, he said. “It’s easy to vote that way and very convenient.”
The Mahoning Early Voting Center is at Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.
The Trumbull board re-leases space in a vacant building at 2911 Youngstown Warren Road SE, Warren, for its early voting center. It’s next to the board offices.
Polling places are open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm on November 8.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Ohio county boards of elections will remain open until 9:00 pm Tuesday to allow people to register to vote in the general election. It is the last day to register for that election for those who are not yet registered to vote.
Trumbull’s office is at 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren.
Mahoning’s office is at Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.
To register in person, you need your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
People can also register online at voteohio.gov, the Ohio secretary of state’s website, beginning Monday.
