Senate, schools mark election

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

There is very little of interest on Tuesday’s primary ballot to bring voters to the polls, local elections board directors say.

Turnout is going to be low: about 30 percent in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and between 20 percent and 25 percent in Columbiana County, they say.

“I don’t see any one issue or candidate driving turnout,” said Thomas McCabe, Mahoning County Board of Elections director. “It’s been slow.”

The state issues and primary races aren’t drawing much interest from local voters, election officials say.

The possible exception is the Democratic match-up for U.S. Senate between Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, they say. And even that race isn’t attracting much attention.

Though there is a hotly-contested Democratic primary for county commissioner and the county’s half-penny sales tax on Tuesday’s ballot, McCabe said lesser issues are drawing more interest.

Those issues, McCabe said, include:

The Austintown school bond issue.

The South Range school tax renewal.

Democratic precinct committee members with the winners voting for party chairman.

The Democratic primaries for the 64th and 65th Ohio House Districts are generating some interest among Trumbull County voters, but “it’s a quiet election,” said Kelly Pallante, director of that county’s board of elections.

The county’s senior citizens renewal levy and the Hubbard library’s continuous levy have “some interest” among voters, she said.

There are no competitive primaries in Columbiana County — only issues.

“You don’t see a lot of ads or yard signs” in the county, said Adam Booth, Columbiana County board director. “We’ve got the county sales tax [renewal]. Even that’s not drawing a lot of attention.”