Some people wait until the final day to register to vote

YOUNGSTOWN — There was a lot of hesitation on the part of Gerald Baker to register to vote.

After all, the 49-year-old Lordstown General Motors worker never voted.

“I didn’t think it would count,” said Baker of Youngstown. “Let’s see if it will now. Things have got to change.”

Baker was among those who waited to register to vote today, the last day to do so for this election.

“It takes a lot for me to be here,” he said. “This here is history for me.”

Baker, who’s worked at the GM for the past 32 years, said he’s voting for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee from Illinois.

County boards of elections in Ohio stayed opened today until 9 p.m. registering voters for the election.

While final numbers weren’t available today, election officials in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana estimated about 250 to 500 people combined waited until the last day to register.

“Apathy,” said Jason Miller of Struthers, 24, about why he waited until today to register to vote for the first time.

Miller also isn’t a big fan of U.S. Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee from Arizona.

“I don’t like McCain,” Miller said about one of main reasons he registered to vote. I disagree with “some of his policies on health care and the middle class.”

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.