Fighting Misinformation

1225 N. Hamilton Road #194 Gahanna, OH 43230

Contact: Erin Scott, 614-832-4375 or erin@ohiowomensalliance.org

With 300 Members Statewide, Ohio Women’s Alliance Continues Fighting Misinformation Through Election Protection Ambassador Program

COLUMBUS, OH—A record number of Ohioans voted on Tuesday, and the Ohio Women’s Alliance intends to keep the conversation going with voters. “An unprecedented number of people participated in this election and that energy doesn’t stop today,” says Erin Scott, Executive Director of Ohio Women’s Alliance. “Elections are only one way to build power and have our voices heard. The work for our organization continues by holding our elected officials accountable, developing policies that center women and families, and continuing to invest in our base of leaders.” 

Though the polls have closed, the effort to count every vote cast in Ohio is still ongoing. Over 2.7 million Ohioans requested absentee ballots and now it’s up to organizations like the Ohio Women’s Alliance to assure voters that the process is secure and worth the wait. “We’ve partnered with Common Cause Education Fund to combat the misinformation and disinformation we encounter online through our Election Protection Ambassadors, which are members of OWA trained on the procedures of a fair and secure count. They are all leaders and trusted messengers in their communities, so equipping them with the tools to proactively post correct election count information will have an impactful ripple effect.”

Trusted messengers are especially important when reaching young people who are more skeptical of mainstream media sources than older voters. Kanyinsola Oye, OWA member and leader of the campaign CPD out of CCS, says, “I think it is easier to convince young people to come out and volunteer when you truly put things into perspective. Text banking and phone banking were difficult in the beginning because it is hard to visualize that you are helping someone that does not align with your values to win a campaign. But when you emphasize to young people especially that voting is only one tool in the tool box for a better world it pushes them to want to join in on the fight.” Ms. Oye has been featured in Teen Vogue as a burgeoning political voice and was recently asked to be a guest speaker on a national platform with Bernie Sanders. When she speaks about the importance of restoring democracy, her friends and followers listen. “Kanyinsola is a bold leader who galvanizes those around her through her contagious energy and commitment to the work,” says Ohio Women’s Alliance Digital Content Manager, Olivia Adkins. “Our generation believes in her because she embodies a new vision of collective liberation for all of us.”

Ms. Oye and her fellow CPD out of CCS campaign leaders hosted several text banks to reach young voters in Ohio this cycle and sent a total of 114,187 text messages between the three text banks.

Ohio Women’s Alliance was able to reach 539,867 contact attempts and had 508,610 conversations with voters about their voting plan for the 2020 election cycle using a combination of text banks and relational organizing platforms. 

Ohio Women’s Alliance is a statewide membership of grassroots leaders, organizers, community builders, and activists creating a better Ohio for all. The Ohio Women’s Alliance is dedicated to capacity-building with womxn leaders across the state--because when womxn thrive, our communities thrive.

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