With many more candidates and issues on the Nov. 2 ballot, election officials in Mahoning and Trumbull counties expect turnout to be better than it was for the
But they also expressed great disappointment with how poor turnout was for Tuesday’s primary.
It was only 8.8 percent in Trumbull County– the lowest it’s been in more than a decade and 13.8 percent in Mahoning County.
“I was shocked and disappointed by the low turnout in the primary,” said Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections. “It’s disappointing from a work perspective as we work so hard for each election. It’s also disappointing that voters didn’t want to vote for local candidates who decide important issues.”
Mahoning elections Director Joyce Kale-Pesta said: “I can’t get it through people’s heads that local government is more important than federal government. Voting is very important, particularly for local government. I don’t know what drives people to come out for president and not for local elections. Either candidates don’t get the vote out or people are apathetic. It’s sad.”
YOUNGSTOWN Nothing is going to change the outcome of the write-in Democratic primary for Youngstown council president: Tom Hetrick is the winner, election officials say.
Hetrick had 1,347 votes to 1,092 for incumbent council President DeMaine Kitchen and 92 for Lee David Pupio. All three ran as write-in candidates.
The 255-vote lead is too great for Kitchen to overcome, said Director Joyce Kale-Pesta and Deputy Director Thomas McCabe of the Mahoning County Board of Elections.
“DeMaine can’t catch him,” McCabe said.
There were 205 votes “not assigned” during Tuesday’s primary and 79 provisional ballots in the city are to be counted.
But McCabe said election officials went through the 205 “not assigned” votes and “there aren’t any that are going to add to the count.”