^{Bruce DuMont}

With Howard Stern, Carl Kasell, Steve Dahl, Terri Hemmert and “The WLS National Barn Dance” among this year’s eclectic group of nominees, voting ends at midnight Sunday for the National Radio Hall of Fame. Balloting, which began June 14, is free and open to anyone who registers online at radiohof.org.

As of early this week, almost 80,000 votes have been cast, which is “comparable to previous years,” according to Bruce DuMont, founder and president of Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications, which administers the Radio Hall of Fame.

“I’m not going to say which it is, but one of the categories is very, very close,” DuMont said. “It’s very possible that it could go either way. So people who want to vote should vote —  and they should vote for all the categories.”

The Radio Hall of Fame steering committee is scheduled to meet Aug. 4 to ratify the results and select additional inductees, “including worthy posthumous and non on-air individuals.” Winners will be announced later that day and will be inducted Nov. 6 during a live national radio broadcast from Chicago.

For now the biggest question may be what will happen if Stern wins. It’s the fourth time his name has appeared on the ballot — and the fourth time he has urged his fans not to vote for him. DuMont said if Stern does win, he’ll be inducted whether he shows up or not.

Since its inception, the Radio Hall of Fame has inducted more than 165 broadcasters and programs.