Ohio Organizing Collaborative Marks National Voter Registration Day, Collecting Over 60,000 Voter Registrations Statewide

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In celebration of National Voter Registration Day on September 15th, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) is highlighting that the organization and its partners have helped collect more than 60,000 voter registration forms this year. The surge in voter registration comes as officials in Ohio and nationally try to implement policies that may deregister eligible voters and change voting rules at the last minute. 

Throughout September, OOC and its organizing projects are meeting Ohioans where they are — in churches, schools, neighborhoods, college campuses, and community spaces — to help residents register to vote, check their registration status, activate around the issues affecting their communities, and find new ways to participate in civic life.

“Democracy is strongest when everyone has the opportunity, information, and tools they need to make their voice heard,” said Molly Shack, Executive Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. “Voting should be easy and accessible to everyone who is legally eligible. National Voter Registration Day is an important reminder to check your registration and make sure you’re ready to vote, but that work cannot be limited to a single day. Across Ohio, our organizers are working every day to combat misinformation and bring more people into our democracy to make civic participation accessible to every community.”

At the federal level, the government is taking alarming steps to make voting more difficult, especially for Americans who have been historically and intentionally marginalized. In Ohio, voting rights have been under attack for years. More than 150,000 Ohioans have recently been strategically purged from voter rolls, and over a million have been purged over the last decade. Without groups like OOC that register voters and encourage them to cast a ballot on election day, these eligible voters would be disenfranchised because of Ohio’s “use it or lose it”  voter registration laws.

OOC’s organizing projects — including The Amos Project, Parents United for Public Schools, Care Economy Organizing Project, Ohio Student Association, and Building Freedom Ohio — are hosting events up until Election Day, including community conversations, town halls, and civic engagement activities to help Ohioans make their voices heard at the polls.

OOC brings people together to talk about the issues affecting their families, neighborhoods and communities, building relationships, and ensuring Ohioans know they have the power to shape the decisions that affect their lives. Ohioans can check their voter registration status, register to vote, and find additional election information through the Ohio Secretary of State’s website HERE.

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