Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Jeannette Bartko of Howland processes ballots from absentee applications at the Trumbull County Board of Elections last week. Election officials in Trumbull and Mahoning counties are predicting a 70 percent voter turnout for the Nov. 3 election, but think many of the votes will be cast by mail.

Turnout for this election in the Mahoning Valley will be at least 70 percent with a much higher number of voters casting ballots by mail than ever before, local elections officials say.

“With everything going on right now, particularly with COVID, it’s creating more interest in the presidential race this year,” Stephanie Penrose, Trumbull County Board of Elections director, said. “This is going to be a crazy election, but we’re ready to go.”

Penrose predicts turnout in Trumbull County to reach 75 percent for this election. It was 69.7 percent in 2016 and 67.8 percent in 2012.

Largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trumbull already has received more requests for absentee ballots before they are mailed out for this election than for all of the 2016 election.

Trumbull County has had about 38,000 mail ballot requests, Penrose said. The county had 18,401 people vote early by mail and about 11,000 in-person during the entire 2016 election, she said.

Penrose expects at least 50 percent of ballots cast in this election to be early voters, primarily through the mail with others in-person.

“COVID is why a lot of people are voting by mail,” Penrose said. “People got used to it in the primary. People voted by mail in the primary that never voted by mail before and they liked it.”

MONDAY REGISTRATION DEADLINE

There are about 135,000 registered voters in Trumbull County. Monday is the deadline for people to register for this election.

The county election board will be open until 9 p.m. Monday to allow people to register to vote.

To register in person, you need either your driver’s license or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

The Trumbull County Board of Elections is at 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren. Also, you can register online at voteohio.gov — the Ohio secretary of state’s website — by Monday.

“Registrations are coming in steady but not heavy,” Penrose said.

One issue, Penrose said, is people are registering to vote more than once.

At least 2,000 to 3,000 people in Trumbull County have submitted more than one registration application, Penrose said. That’s because people are getting multiple pieces of mail about registering to vote, and they haven’t received a ballot yet so they’re concerned they aren’t registered, she said.

EARLY VOTING STARTS TUESDAY

Early voting starts Tuesday. The election board also will begin mailing absentee ballots Tuesday to those who have requested them.

The Trumbull board is working with Midwest Direct, a Cleveland company, to help mail ballots.

In Trumbull, mailings will start Tuesday and should be finished by the end of the week, Penrose said.

Additional requests should get a quick turnaround, but voters are urged to return ballots as soon as possible.

All mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 2, the day before the election, and must arrive at county boards of elections no later than Nov. 13, 10 days after the election, to be counted.

Early in-person voting is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and from Oct. 12 to 16. The hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 19 to Oct. 23; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24; and 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 25.

For Oct. 26 to Oct. 30, the hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Early voting is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 the Saturday before the election; 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 1; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 2.

Polling locations on Nov. 3, Election Day, are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For early voting, the Trumbull board has moved the location to the former Chase Bank building, 2911 Youngstown Road SE, next to the board office. That was done because the board office is too small, and people would have to use the same doors to enter and exit, raising social distancing concerns, Penrose said.

The county is leasing the space for $5,600 through Nov. 15.

“We’ve put up Plexiglas and have hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies,” Penrose said. “We expect a lot of in-person voters so this is a good location.”