Election day is just over a moth away but how many Portage County citizens will even bother going to the polls? BBR’s Tyler Carey has more.

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2014 is a midterm election year, and that means voter turnout is expected to be much lower than, say, a Presidential election.

During the 2010 midterms less than 45 percent of Ohioans 18 and over filled out a ballot, compared to more than 60 percent during the 2012 Presidential race.

Brad Cromes. the Deputy Director of the Portage County Board of Elections, says lot of the drop off stems from a decrease in political advertising and the awareness those ads bring. Cromes added it is mostly up to the campaigns and political organizations to get out the vote.

Schad Dalton, President of the Kent State College Democrats, says he is satisfied with the amount of people his organization has spoken to and registered to vote, but does feel the process can be challenging when the stakes don’t seem as high.

“It’s tough sometimes to remind people that, as sexy as the Presidential election is, it’s not nearly as big a deal in the grand scheme of things as your local races and your state races, because those are the ones that hit home first,” Dalton says. “All politics is local is the old saying, and that’s basically true.”

Dalton also told me he feels it is important for everyone to vote and make their voice heard, regardless of political affiliation.

For Broadcast Beat Reporting, I’m Tyler Carey.