If election directors are correct in their predictions for how many votes will be cast in this election – and they’re usually close – Mahoning and Trumbull counties will have the lowest turnout in at least the 30 years I’ve covered elections in the Valley.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown asked me to talk to its membership about the importance of local elections, which I did Wednesday.

I didn’t deliver good news.

Director Tom McCabe of the Mahoning County Board of Elections predicts turnout for the general election in his county to be 22%.

It’s even lower in Trumbull County. Stephanie Penrose, Trum-bull’s election director, expects turnout in her county to be 20%.

I went to the Mahoning elections board’s early voting center Wednesday, the second day of early voting, right before noon to take some photos of voters and gauge turnout.

It took about 15 minutes before a voter walked in. It was several more minutes before two others came in — a candidate and her husband. Before I arrived, there was a wave of early voters because there was a poll worker class that had started and those taking the class voted before and after it.

In all, I stayed for a little more than an hour and about eight people showed up.

There were more board workers than there were voters during my time there.

If the projections by McCabe and Penrose are accurate, the two counties would have their worst turnout percentages in at least three decades, likely longer.

We’ve seen a decline in turnout in odd-year elections when there isn’t a statewide issue on the ballot.

It’s been a bit masked because Ohio had statewide issues on the ballot in 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2023. That has resulted in turnout during those elections being not far off from the percentage of registered voters in gubernatorial election years.

For example, turnout in the 2022 election — in which statewide officeholders were on the ballot — was 53.17% in Mahoning and 54.14% in Trumbull.

A year later, with a reproductive rights constitutional amendment and an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, turnout in Mahoning was 47.81% and 48.83% in Trumbull.

If we go back to the 2014 general election, again with statewide officeholders on the ballot, turnout in Mahoning was 41.51% and 40.81% in Trumbull.

A year later, with three issues on the ballot, including a failed effort to legalize marijuana and a state Legislature redistricting amendment, turnout was higher. It was 44.21% in Mahoning and 47.32% in Trumbull.

But when there are only local candidates and issues on the ballot, the percentages tumble.

In 2017, it was 33.28% in Mahoning and 30.87% in Trumbull. It dropped in 2019 to 26.63% in Mahoning and 22.37% in Trumbull.

The projections in both counties are for it to be even lower for the Nov. 4 election. Early voting started Tuesday.

While the president and governor have an enormous amount of power, what happens at the local level has a significant impact.

McCabe said: “This is your school board, trustees, councils and mayor. This is where your daily life is impacted. People are not engaged. We’re also not seeing many new registrations, which is how we also base turnout.

Penrose said of local elections: “It’s the people who affect your everyday life the most, deciding on road construction, police and fire — and there’s still not a lot of interest in the election.”

Local officials also decide about park improvements, addressing water and sewer issues and if / when your street gets plowed when the snow comes.

Yet plenty of communities and school districts see little to no choice when it comes to picking candidates. Some races have two seats up for grabs with two candidates running. Others don’t even have enough candidates for the available positions.

People get excited about voting for president. They sometimes stand for lengthy periods of time waiting to be one of more than 150 million people voting for president, yet they don’t bother to vote for local races. Most of the time, you can be in and out of a polling location in 10 minutes or less during those odd-year elections.

The cause of poor turnout in odd-year elections without a statewide issue is simply people aren’t interested, despite the importance of voting in those races.

Some aren’t even aware there is an election Nov. 4 or that they can go to their local board of elections and vote now.

The situation is only getting worse.

Members of the League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown asked me how to reverse that trend.

I wish I had an answer, or at least a positive outlook.

David Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.