Community empowered by Cincinnati NAACP’s voting initiative

Contributed byCincinnati NAACPOn Feb. 12, Cincinnati NAACP was the first chapter in the United States to launch V.O.T.E., a comprehensive voter and civic engagement strategy that includes a mobile unit to engage Hamilton County residents directly in the voting process.  The first Cincinnati NAACP Mobile Civic Engagement Unit outreach event was held in April, with monthly events with community partners scheduled afterward. Cincinnati NAACP leaders, mobile unit sponsors, and community partners discussed strategic priorities and bus appearances and showed the mobile unit. Cincinnati NAACP Mobile Civic Engagement Unit is 24 ft long X 10 ft wide X 11 ft. tall. Retrofitted with six computer stations, printers, and Wi-Fi, the vehicle travels to historically marginalized neighborhoods with low voter engagement.  Trained volunteers are educating residents about the voting process, distributing instructional materials, printing their sample ballot, providing absentee ballot request forms, and assisting in online registration (paper voter registration forms will also be available). Additionally, residents are being instructed to verify their registration status, track their mailed applications and ballots, find polling locations, and identify their elected officials.  “We could not have been more excited to launch the first in the nation NAACP civic engagement strategy and mobile unit in Cincinnati...