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With high-profile and competitive races for governor and U.S. senator on the ballot, election directors in Mahoning and Trumbull counties are predicting good turnout.
Tom McCabe, Mahoning County Board of Elections director, said he expects turnout for the election in his county to be more than 55%.
Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections, predicts turnout to be nearly 60% in her county.
McCabe said: "People are talking about the races for governor and senator. People will be more motivated to vote this time than four years ago" when all of the statewide executive branch races and a U.S. Senate race were last on the ballot.
McCabe said: "Both sides are motivated to come out. The advertising for this election is significantly more than it was four years ago. People are paying attention to the election and the advertising is making it hard to ignore there's an election."
Penrose said turnout will be better than it's been in previous elections when statewide candidates were on the ballot.
"There are no incumbents, so that will bring out more people," Penrose said. "A lot of it is going to be the governor and the senator. County auditor and commissioner affect our everyday lives more, but it will be governor and senator that will bring people out to vote. The advertising for governor and senator have been going on for months. If you're watching any kind of TV or going on Facebook, the advertising is nonstop."
Early voting starts Tuesday.
The turnout expectations from McCabe and Penrose are higher than the results in the two counties, particularly in Trumbull, during the last three elections when all of the statewide executive branch seats were on the ballot.
In 2022, turnout in Mahoning County was 53.17% and was 54.14% in Trumbull.
In 2018, it was 54.72% in Mahoning and 53.84% in Trumbull. That was the last time there weren't any incumbents on the ballot for the statewide executive branch seats.
In 2014, turnout was 41.55% in Mahoning and 40.81% in Trumbull.
Turnout during the last three presidential elections was higher.
In 2024, it was 70.03% in Mahoning and 69.53% in Trumbull.
In 2020, it was 72.59% in Mahoning and 74.35% in Trumbull. In 2016, turnout was 70.82% in Mahoning and 69.7% in Trumbull.
EARLY VOTING
Early voting for this election starts Tuesday.
Early in-person voting is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. It is also 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 12 to 16 as well as Oct. 19 to 23.
Early in-person voting is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27, and 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 to 30.
It is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31, the Saturday before the election, and 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 1, the Sunday before the election.
The Trumbull office is at 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren.
The Mahoning office is at Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.
The polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3.
County election boards in Ohio will remain open until 9 p.m. Monday to allow people to register to vote in the upcoming primary election if they aren't already registered voters. It's the final day to do so.
To register in-person, you need either your driver's license number or state ID and the last four digits of your Social Security number.
People can also register online at voteohio.gov, the Ohio secretary of state's website, by 9 p.m. Monday.
MAIL BALLOTS
All ballots, including those by mail, must arrive at county boards of elections no later than 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3, when polls close, under a law that took effect with the primary.
Previously, absentee ballots had to be postmarked by the day before the primary and arrive no later than four days after the primary to be counted. That was changed, effective with the May 2023 election, when there was a 10-day grace period for ballots to arrive at boards of elections.
The only voters who maintain the four-day grace period are those who cast ballots living overseas or in the military.
McCabe said: "Mail ballots are a safe way to vote. But because absentee ballots have to be returned by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3, if you use the postal service, give yourself plenty of time - at least four to five days. If not, then you can put it in the drop box outside the board of elections."
An approved photo identification is needed to vote early in-person and at the polling locations.
To vote those ways, a person needs one of the following: a driver's license, a state ID card, a passport, a passport card or a military ID.
State Issue 3, on this ballot, would add that requirement to the Ohio Constitution.
Penrose said she's heard no one discussing the state issue as a motivation to vote in this election.
Those who vote by mail can use either their driver's license ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.