Voter Registration Experiment & Block Party Tour
Thanks to a new partnership with Open Labs USA, in 2022 we launched a voter registration experiment targeted at building relationships with Black-owned businesses across Ohio to help register their customers who were not yet registered to vote. Due to the pandemic, our ambassadors found that the pre-2020 in-person foot traffic in local businesses had decreased significantly, with many establishments conducting over 50% of business online.
So while our Voter Registration Ambassadors found some success reaching in-person customers at Black-owned businesses, the ambassadors were most successful at local community events like street festivals, neighborhood parties, and the Block Party Tour that OWA cohosted with Ohio Families Unite Against Police Brutality (OFUAPB). From May to September, the first annual Block Party tour traveled to 6 cities to amplify the lived experiences of survivors, celebrate Black joy, register voters, and spread the word about how to stand against police violence at the ballot box and beyond.
OWA Action Fund’s First-Ever Candidate Endorsements
The 2022 election results told us that local trusted messengers are the path to power. We were thrilled to enter the endorsement scene in 2022 by uplifting seven candidates who have a track record of prioritizing Reproductive Justice along with the wellbeing and values of BIPOC communities. While our endorsed candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court and Ohio Secretary of State races did not win, we were to see wins from Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, and Franklin County Commission Erica Crawley all saw success in November.
Akron also saw an historic win in November, with residents voting to implement a civilian oversight board for Akron Police. In the words of our partners at The Freedom BLOC who are responsible for this incredible win, “With this historic win for community safety, Akron is standing up for police accountability, and this is only the beginning.”
We must play the long game in Ohio. Despite the losses at the top of the ticket, platforming candidates that support Reproductive Justice and true community health and safety is never a failure. 2022 voter turnout tells us what we’ve known all along—Ohioans are the only ones who should be making choices for ourselves, our families, and our communities!