Early voting available

March 31, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

YOUNGSTOWN

Though the primary election is more than a month away, registered voters can cast ballots now.

Early voting in Ohio began Tuesday, 35 days before the May 4 election.

Also, if you’re not registered to vote in the primary, Monday is the deadline to do so. Boards of elections in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties will be open till 9 p.m. Monday for those wanting to register.

Despite early voting starting Tuesday, there was barely a trickle of voters at the Mahoning Valley elections board offices.

But elections officials expect that to pick up shortly.

“We’re not expecting many voters till after Easter,” which is Sunday, said Joyce Kale-Pesta, deputy director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections. “The get-out-the-vote effort hasn’t started yet.”

The Mahoning board received about 2,000 requests for early-voting mail ballots as of Tuesday.

Once it becomes known that voters can cast ballots now, the number doing so will increase, said Adam Booth, deputy director of the Columbiana County Board of Elections.

“The media generates interest in early voting,” he said. “We normally get a rush from media reports.”

The Columbiana board received about 400 to 500 requests for early-voting mail ballots as of Tuesday, Booth said.

The Trumbull board had about 650 early-voting ballots requested as of Tuesday, said Kelly Pallante, director.

“The closer to Election Day, the busier we get,” she said about early-voting ballot requests and those voting in person at the board. “With next Monday being the end of registration, some people [incorrectly] view that as the last day to vote early, and we see an increase in turnout.”

The boards of elections addresses are:

Mahoning County, 2801 Market St., Youngstown, OH 44507.

Trumbull County, 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren, OH 44484.

Columbiana County, 41 N. Park Ave., Lisbon, OH 44432.

In a cost-cutting move, the Mahoning County Board of Elections has gone to a print-on-demand system for those coming to its office to vote early, Kale-Pesta said.

The board typically hires a company to print thousands of absentee ballots, of which many aren’t used, for those wanting to vote early, she said.

The new system reduces the board’s overall expenses by about $20,000, and it takes less than a minute to print a ballot, she said.