When did you last vote?

We know, that’s private, no need to reply. But the numbers speak volumes on Americans’ ambivalence about democracy. The Pew Research Center found that only about two-thirds of the voting-eligible population showed up at the polls for the 2020 presidential election. And that was the highest voter turnout for any national election since 1900.

In Ohio, approximately 2 million eligible voters aren’t even registered, according to recent research by Innovation Ohio. And more than 700,000 registered voters skipped the last three federal elections. In that span (2018-2022), voter turnout in Ohio dropped by 3.4 percentage points. The decline was roughly twice as sharp in urban counties such as Cuyahoga.

But this isn’t just about investment and influence. Voting is associated with better health, according to the American Medical Association and National Medical Association. There is a growing gap in life expectancy between different regions of the United States, in large part because of policies set in state capitols, including Ohio’s.

So why are so many people opting out?

Greater Cleveland Congregations, which is two years into a 10-year project to increase civic engagement, rejects the common “apathy” explanation. GCC attributes the problem to “voter depression:” people stop voting, or never start, because nothing ever seems to change in their communities. Ohio Organizing Collaborative has found similar reasons for disengagement (and many others) in ongoing research that will eventually inform new efforts in several states.

Both organizations are demonstrating that relational organizing — one-on-one interactions between people who trust each other — can move the needle on voter turnout. The problem is that it’s really hard to scale.

At Signal Cleveland, we’ve been talking for months about how we can help move that needle in 2024. We will, of course, provide information on candidates and issues, including the often-overlooked local judicial races. We’ll remind you about voting registration requirements and deadlines. We also plan to explain other relevant issues such as voting restrictions, gerrymandering and how the different levels of government function (or should).

We want our work to better equip everyone to be a relational organizer with their own relatives, friends and neighbors.

The Cleveland Documenters and Signal’s Community Listening Team will be integral to ensuring that we deliver the information and insights that Greater Clevelanders want most. We’ll use our email newsletters, social media and events to gather more feedback. In the meantime, you can send questions, comments or concerns to Editor Helen Maynard ([email protected]) or Associate Editor Frank W. Lewis ([email protected]).