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The forecast is in for Tuesday's special congressional election in Mahoning County, and it's not pretty.
Tom McCabe, director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, predicts an inexcusably scant 8% of the county's 160,000 registered voters will show up to vote or will have already taken part in early voting for the critical 6th Congressional District race.
That means 92 out of every 100 voters will let others decide what's best for them on critical national issues and policymaking in the U.S. Capitol. That should be unacceptable to any red-blooded patriotic American.
As McCabe lamented, "It's going to be pretty quiet." Let's hope that's not the understatement of the year.
Sure, excuses abound for 6th District residents to sit out this rare June election.
"Why waste my time for only one single race on the ballot?" some will argue.
"Why bother to elect an officeholder who will take his seat for a scant six months?" others will bemoan.
Tuesday's election, however, is neither a waste of time nor a trivial pursuit. The winner of the race between Republican Mike Rulli and Democrat Michael Kripchak will help forge critical national and foreign policy decisions during the final half of the year for the 788,000 residents of the 11-county district. What's more, the winner Tuesday clearly will have a distinct advantage when a rematch between the two for a full congressional term takes place in November.
Need more reasons to spare a few minutes of your day at your nearby precinct polling station Tuesday? Here are three:
1. Do it for your own personal agenda. Clearly, the candidates differ widely on the priorities facing the nation today. Rulli, for example, stresses conservative Republican principles and allies himself with Donald Trump. Kripchak, on the other hand, espouses Democratic Party ideals and prioritizes job creation in the Valley. Registered voters who fail to mark their ballot for their preferred candidate and his platform forfeit the right to complain after their unfavored candidate takes office.
2. Do it for pure dollars-and-cents reasons. Because the U.S. Constitution requires it, filling this vacant U.S. representative's seat caused by the resignation of Bill Johnson in January means an extra districtwide election estimated to cost $1 million of your tax dollars. Staying home is a colossal waste of those hard-earned dollars. What's more, you have no say on how millions of federal tax revenue from the Valley will be spent.
3. Do it for democracy. In recent months and years, many politicians and pundits have cried wolf over what they fear is a loss of our democratic way of life. One clear way to prove those pundits wrong is to demonstrate in the most visible way possible that democracy remains alive and well in at least this little corner of the nation.
When you do head to vote Tuesday, remember polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. throughout the district. Early voting at county boards of election ended Sunday. Also, do not forget to bring acceptable IDs. They are limited to a driver's license, a state ID card, a passport or a military ID.
Regular readers of this page know we have endorsed Rulli in this critical race for his experience in local and state lawmaking. We gave him a slight edge over Kripchak, whom we also endorsed in the March Democratic primary.
Regardless of whether you're a Rulli supporter or a Kripchak backer, we urge all eligible voters to study the candidates' backgrounds, make an informed decision and register your vote tomorrow. Do so for your own personal considerations, do so for financial interests or do so to promote democracy.
Above all else, just do it.