Out of the approximately 9,193,508 (Federal Register 2022) Ohioans who are eligible to vote 86.8% are registered to vote. Yet in the 2023 election only 3,964,530 voted for a turnout rate of 49.63%. This means 43.12% made decisions for the rest of Ohioan. Why don’t people vote or even register to vote? Is it so they can say “don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for him/her?” Do they not feel informed enough? Perhaps they don’t have time? Maybe they don’t understand how to vote. Or maybe they don’t think voting matters one way or another in their lives – it’s just one vote after all. As a voting rights advocate, I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of non-voters to understand why someone doesn’t participate. It is hard for me to understand as I couldn’t wait to cast my first vote when I turned 18. People were arrested, beaten, and lost their lives in pursuit of the ballot. For them I never take that right and privilege for granted.

The foundation of our democracy is built on the power of the vote. When our country was first founded in the 1700s states limited voting to only White men who owned property. With the ratification of the 15th amendment in 1870 the right to vote was theoretically extended to all men regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. In 1920 with the passage of the 19th amendment the right to vote could not be denied to anyone based on their sex. My grandma was two years old when women were allowed to vote, but not all women (only White women). It wasn’t until 1965, only five years before I was born, that the Voting Rights Act was passed and literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses and other barriers preventing people of color from voting were finally banned.

When I cast my vote at the ballot I do indeed have power and so do you. My vote determines who governs, what policies are in place and what services are available to those in my community. I know my vote has power, otherwise politicians, wouldn’t be working so hard to take it away. In the past four years, a narrative sowing fear continues that our elections aren’t fair, that non-citizens are voting, that ballots aren’t being counted correctly, and voter rolls need to be purged. However, the facts don’t back the fears that are being stoked to dissuade voters from showing up (why vote if my vote won’t count anyway?) In Ohio in the 2020 presidential race out of almost 6 million votes cast only 27 were found to be illegal for a rate of around .0005%. The non-citizens the Secretary of State claims to have tried to vote when researched and validated turned out to be newly naturalized citizens. As a poll worker, I saw first hand how secure our elections are. Everything is double, triple and quadruple checked by both parties. Voting machines are not connected to the Internet. Still Ohio legislatures have at least four bills in the legislature further restricting voting access including prohibiting outdoor absentee ballot receptacles (S.B. 184) and requiring a voter’s current appearance to match their ID photo (H.B. 472).

We have the power to vote them out. Register to vote if you haven’t yet! In Ohio you have until October 7. Show up at the polls and vote or request and send in your absentee ballot! Early voting starts October 8th and election day is November 5. (Don’t forget to bring an unexpired Ohio Driver’s License/State ID or passport!) Non-partisan information about candidates and issues is available at www.Vote411.org.