It’s sad to say, but Tuesday promises to be yet another sleepy election day throughout the Mahoning Valley. Officials at boards of election in Mahoning and Trumbull counties and the Ohio secretary of state’s office project abysmally low levels of voter participation.

Estimates from Mahoning elections board Director Tom McCabe pegs turnout from 25% to a possible but unlikely high of 30%. In Trumbull County, Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull elections board, last week downsized her original turnout estimate of nearly 40% made two months ago to no higher than about 30% as the day draws near.

If those projections prove true, it means more than two-thirds of eligible voters will forfeit the right to have a direct say in the future direction of their nation, their state and their local communities.

If history is instructive, then sadly those embarrassing predictions most likely are on target. We hope, however, that the Valley electorate surprises us with much higher percentages.

After all, much is at stake at the polls for state government leadership as well as for local communities and school systems.

Mahoning Valley residents will join the rest of the state in helping to nominate major-party candidates for U.S. senator, U.S. representatives, state lawmakers, regional appeals court judges and others. Some of those races, particularly for the Republican nomination for state and national legislative posts, have generated much attention and no small amount of acrimony.

Closer to home, the electorate will choose political party nominees for the all-important position of county commissioner. Unlike the airtight trends in those counties before the rise of Donald Trump’s brand of Republicanism, the winners of the Democratic primary no longer are guaranteed automatic victories in the November general elections.

In addition to the partisan races on Tuesday’s ballot, voters of all political stripes will cast ballots on an array of community and school issues. None in Mahoning County looms as large as the 0.75% sales tax for criminal justice services. The tax generates about $31.7 million annually and loss of that revenue could spell catastrophe for critical services for the county sheriff, prosecutor, coroner and 911 operations. Voters should take note that this tax levy — like the vast majority on Valley ballots — is a renewal issue, meaning no increase in taxes would result with passage.

To be sure, your one vote on these and other state and local races and issues will have a much stronger and more direct impact on your everyday lives than your one vote for president of the United States typically does every four years.

So even though Ohioans no longer will play any direct role in determining the major party nominees for president this year — Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump locked in their needed delegates to do so last week — we strongly urge residents of the Mahoning Valley to cast their ballots in Tuesday’s primary election wisely and conscientiously.

As usual, polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. throughout Ohio. Early voting at county boards of election ended Sunday. When heading to the polls Tuesday, 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.

ENDORSEMENTS IN REVIEW

This newspaper’s commitment to elections is long-standing. We spend hours in endorsement meetings with candidates for office to make well-reasoned recommendations to voters. Based on what we learn in those interviews and elsewhere, we issue endorsements.

What follows is a summary of our recommendations for political-party races that we explained in detail in individual editorials in this space over the last several weeks:

● Democratic Party nomination for Trumbull County commissioner Jan. 3, 2025, term: Dan Polivka.

● Republican Party nomination for Trumbull County commissioner Jan. 3, 2025, term: Rick Hernandez.

● 6th Congressional District Republican race: State Sen. Michael Rulli.

● 6th Congressional District Democratic race: Michael Kripchak.

Please exercise your constitutional right and civic duty by making it a point to vote Tuesday.

editorial@vindy.com