Sunday, May 3, 2009
Turnout in Mahoning County is expected to be 22 percent, its elections board chief predicts.
YOUNGSTOWN — More than three-quarters of Mahoning Valley voters eligible to cast ballots for candidates or issues Tuesday won’t bother doing so, local election officials predict.
There isn’t much on Tuesday’s primary ballot to bring out voters, the officials say.
“There’s no interest and no [political] activity,” said Thomas McCabe, Mahoning County Board of Elections director. “You drive and there’s no yard signs.”
Turnout in odd-year elections are typically poor, he and other Valley election officials say.
There isn’t the excitement or interest that exists in even-year elections when voters are waiting in long lines at time to cast ballots for the president, Congress, the state Legislature and county officials.
This Tuesday, Youngstown, the county’s most populated community, has a two-man Democratic mayoral primary and liquor options in two Youngstown voting precincts. That’s it for Youngstown’s ballot.
In Austintown and Canfield, there’s nothing on Tuesday’s ballot.
In Boardman, there are two renewal levies and two questions: one on the aggregate purchase of natural gas and the other on electricity.
Turnout in Mahoning County is expected to be 22 percent, McCabe said.
That would be up from 19 percent in 2007, but down from the 25.9 percent turnout in 2005.
McCabe found himself yearning for a turnout similar to 2005 before realizing that 25.9 percent is “abysmal.”
It’s not that much better in Trumbull County.
“There’s not a lot to vote on,” said Kelly Pallante, the county’s board of elections director. “The interest doesn’t seem to be there like last year” during the presidential election.
Turnout in Trumbull County should be about 25 percent, she said.
It would be lower if it weren’t for a new Liberty school tax levy and a Weathersfield school bond issue on the ballot, she said.
“It should be a relatively quiet day,” Pallante said. “Usually turnout is lower in odd-year primaries. You would hope voters could consider all elections to be important.”
But the numbers tell a different story.
“There’s not much on the ballot to bring people out to the polls” in Columbiana County, said Kim Meeks, its board of elections director.
She predicts turnout in her county to be 15 percent to 17 percent.
That might not sound like much, but turnout during the 2007 primary in Columbiana County was 12.7 percent.
The polls will be open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
skolnick@vindy.com