WARREN — Most voters aren’t interested in this election, said Mahoning Valley election officials — who are nevertheless urging people to go to the polls Tuesday.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of excitement out there for this election,” Thomas McCabe, Mahoning County Board of Elections deputy director, said. “It’s not for a lack of hours or how easy it is to vote by mail or in person.”

McCabe added: “Your quality of life is affected mostly by your local officials — council, trustee and school board. It’s a shame that more people don’t participate.”

Turnout in Mahoning County for Tuesday’s election is expected to be 25 percent to 28 percent, McCabe said.

It should be about 25 percent to 30 percent in Trumbull County, said Stephanie Penrose, its elections director.

This will be the poorest turnout in the counties for a general election since 2013, the last time there wasn’t a statewide issue on the ballot in an odd-numbered year.

“I had somebody tell me on the phone that they were registered to vote, but wouldn’t (vote) this year,” she said. “They’re waiting until the 2020 election to vote for president. It kind of broke my heart a little bit. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that. It’s disheartening that people don’t want to vote for their local officials and issues.”

But there are some races and issues attracting attention from voters, Penrose and McCabe said.

In Mahoning County, the elections for trustee and fiscal officer in both Austintown and Boardman as well as the Youngstown Municipal Court judicial race and the Struthers mayoral contest have interested early voters, McCabe said.

In Trumbull County, the Niles school board race with nine candidates, that district’s tax renewal and the Warren mayoral race between incumbent Doug Franklin and challenger Randy Law brought in early voters, Penrose said.

The polls are open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. There’s also still time to vote early.

Early in-person voting at board of elections offices is 1 to 5 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

In Trumbull County, 55 of its 158 precincts will use the new paper-ballot system for the first time Tuesday.

The board eliminated touch-screen voting this year after using it for the previous 14 years. The board purchased a $1.4 million paper-ballot system in February that includes 150 scanners to read ballots and 80 machines for the visually impaired.

Penrose and McCabe said they want to remind voters to bring proper identification to the polls.

These can include, according to the Ohio secretary of state:

∫ An unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state identification card.

∫ A military identification.

∫ An unexpired photo identification issued by the federal or state government that contains the voter’s name and current address.

∫ An original or copy of a utility bill from the past 12 months with the voter’s name and current address.

∫ An original or copy of a bank statement from the past 12 months with the voter’s name and current address.

∫ An original or copy of a government check from the past 12 months with the voter’s name and current address.

∫ An original or copy of a paycheck from the past 12 months with the voter’s name and current address.

∫ An original or copy of another government document, other than a notice of voter registration, from the past 12 months with the voter’s name and current address.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com