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With several important races to be decided during the 2014 election year, one would think voters would be eager to flock to the polls. However, as statistics show, voter turnout tends to be significantly lower during midterm years, as opposed to, say, a Presidential election.

According to a study by George Mason University, just 43.6 percent of Ohioans 18 and over voted during the 2010 midterms, as opposed to 62.7 percent two years later during the Presidential election. That’s a difference of almost one third, although in both years Ohio was above the national average.

Here in Portage County, Board of Elections Deputy Director Brad Cromes expects more of the same this time around, citing a low turnout during May’s primary elections and low numbers in voter registration.

I did ask Cromes if the BOE can do anything to get out the vote this year, and while he and his staff do try to help students at schools like Kent State register to vote, he told me its mostly up to the campaigns to get citizens excited about voting. Whether that will be the case this year remains to be seen.

For Broadcast Beat Reporting, I’m Tyler Carey.