Early voting begins in Mahoning County

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County residents trickled into the board of elections Wednesday to cast early ballots for next month’s presidential primary.

Al and Margaret Werden of Canfield usually vote Democrat, but they switched Wednesday to a Republican ballot so they could vote for real-estate mogul and multimillionaire Donald Trump.

“It’s about jobs,” Al Werden said. “All of these people out here, they all need jobs.”

Wednesday was the first day of early voting in Ohio when people can vote absentee in-person at their county’s board of elections.

The Werdens have taken advantage of early voting the last couple of years because they appreciate the convenience.

“We’re usually out of town” on election day, Margaret Werden said.

Because this marks a presidential election year, Ohio’s primary election for both parties is March 15. It’s in May in nonpresidential election years.

Trump is leading in many polls, with a field of Republican candidates including Ohio Gov. John Kasich vying for the Republican nomination. That field may narrow, however, after Saturday’s South Carolina primary.

A poor showing could prompt some candidates to drop out of the race.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are competing for the Democratic nomination.

Joyce Kale-Pesta, director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, said voting had been steady early Wednesday.

“There’s been somebody at the counter since 8 this morning,” she said.

It slowed by late morning though.

“We’ll probably have between 45 percent and 50 percent turnout,” Kale-Pesta said.

For the Werdens, jobs are the most important issue in the election.

“If a Democrat was going to bring back jobs, I’d vote for them,” Al Werden said.

Boards of elections across Ohio will be open for in-person absentee voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 5. The week before the election, March 7 through March 11, boards of elections will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. The Saturday before election day, March 12, boards will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. March 13 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 14.