Contributed by
Cincinnati NAACP
On 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 on the 109th charter day of our branch, said Joe Mallory, Cincinnati NAACP President. For 109 years, our chapter has been a local leader and national role model in our organization’s mission to advance policies and practices that expand human and Civil Rights. Thank you to sponsors and partners, Fifth Third Foundation, McElrath Slade Wholeness Institute, Kroger, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, J. Phillip Holloman, and the Urban League of Southwestern Ohio. The Cincinnati NAACP is leveraging technology and mobility to reach residents more easily to empower, engage and educate them on voting.”
David Whitehead, Cincinnati NAACP Political Action & Voter Empowerment Chair, said, “We look forward to elevating and continuing to do the work of the Cincinnati NAACP by taking the mobile unit into communities, educating residents about civic engagement, and training volunteers.” He went on to say, “Our goal is to make our model scalable and sustainable beyond the election cycle.”
Community partners can request the Cincinnati NAACP Mobile Civic Engagement Unit. Requests are confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on unit and volunteer availability.