Voter registration efforts are working; now it’s time to get out the vote: Emily Campbell

Efforts to increase voter registration in Cleveland have been successful. When compiling data for Cleveland's neighborhoods , we noticed a trend: The share of the eligible population who were registered to vote was higher than expected, given the city's demographics.

Greater Cleveland's civic community is pulling out all the stops to register neighbors to vote. County government includes voter registration forms for those applying for public benefits. Libraries, community groups, schools and Cleveland Votes are encouraging people to not only register, but to ensure that their information is up to date.

As a result, up to 90 percent of Cleveland's voting-age citizen population is registered to vote.

But being registered is not enough; the next step in civic engagement is casting a ballot.

Before the last general election, over 85 percent of Ohioans said they were certain to vote or would probably vote, according to the Ohio Pulse Poll conducted by Baldwin Wallace University's Community Research Institute.

But when the election was over, just under half of registered voters had cast ballots.

In the 2023 general election, voter turnout in Cleveland was much lower than that in the suburbs. Cleveland voters were underrepresented in the share of ballots cast in the last election compared to their population, especially in formerly redlined neighborhoods.

Voter turnout in Kamm's Corner was over 50 percent, compared to just 13.3 percent of registered voters who voted in Central. Turnout in Edgewater, Tremont, Ohio City and Old Brooklyn was more than twice that in Kinsman, St. Clair-Superior, Clark Fulton and Stockyards.

Cuyahoga County has the largest voting-age citizen population in the state, and more than one in 10 ballots cast in Ohio's 2023 general election came from Cuyahoga County.

Yet Cuyahoga had the lowest official voter turnout of any county in Northeast Ohio - and the 13th worst of Ohio's 88 counties.

There are enough voters in Cleveland to swing statewide races, if everyone makes a plan and votes. Cleveland's population of registered voters is larger than 81 of Ohio's counties.

Even without Cleveland, Cuyahoga suburbs would outnumber registered voters in every county except Franklin (home to Columbus).

In the last presidential election, two-thirds of Midwest voters did so in person on election day. Nationwide, younger people are more likely to vote on election day.

But life can get in the way and the weather might not cooperate. And changing rules about required identification and stricter absentee ballot regulations can be confusing.

Ohioans don't have to wait for election day to vote. The best way to ensure that your ballot counts is to vote early by mail or in person at the Board of Elections.

Voter registration is open until Oct. 7. Early in-person voting begins the next day.

Polls are open on election day – Nov. 5, 2024 - from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Ohio Secretary of State's website at ohiosos.gov has official information on the upcoming election.

Take the next step: Make a plan; cast your ballot.