Is Baltimore headed for a historic low primary election turnout today?

If it weren’t for the signs outside the city’s 290 polling places, you’d hardly know there’s an election going on. And that it’s an important election in the sense that the city has huge promise and terrible problems – and this primary pretty much is the election.

Nearly 80% of the registered voters in Baltimore are Democrats, so their choices for mayor and city council in today’s election inevitably prevail.

By all accounts, turnout was as low this morning as officials have been predicting, based on the early voting numbers. (Given six days before primary day to vote, about 7,800 of the city’s 370,000 registered voters have done so, city election officials say.)

In the last primary, only 28% of the voters went to the polls. Will we drop lower in Primary 2011?

Without the fireworks of last year’s state’s attorney’s race, officials are saying city turnout could sink to 20% this year.

If you want to prove them wrong, head off to vote now. Polls are open until 8 p.m.