What if the decisions that affect your family, your neighborhood, and your community were being made without you?
In Ohio, that happens more often than you might think. According to the Ohio Education Fund’s “A Justice Agenda: Ohio’s Missing Voters (2023),” there were 2,029,664 eligible Ohio voters who were not registered to vote, along with another 707,382 voters listed as inactive.
Those numbers represent millions of voices that could be part of our democracy but aren’t currently being heard.
I often tell people that voting is one of the simplest ways we can have a say in the communities where we live. If you aren’t voting, someone else is making those decisions for you. That “someone else” might be your neighbor, your coworker, or someone who simply happened to show up at the polls when you didn’t.
That’s why the League of Women Voters of Bowling Green is partnering with Grounds for Thought throughout September to make it a little easier to register to vote or verify that your registration is current.
League volunteers will be at Grounds for Thought on Mondays from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Thursdays from noon – 4 p.m. We’ll be there to help people register to vote, update their information if they’ve moved, and verify that their voter registration is current. We’ll also be at Grounds for Thought during the Black Swamp Arts Festival.
You don’t have to know everything about voting before you register. You just need to take that first step.
If you prefer to register online or check your registration yourself, you can visit VOTE411.org, a nonpartisan voter information resource provided by the League of Women Voters Education Fund.
And don’t wait! Ohio’s voter-registration deadline for the November 3 general election is Monday, Oct. 5.
Whether you’ve never registered, recently moved, or simply aren’t sure about your status, take a few minutes to check.
Your voice matters. Your vote matters. And your community needs you to use both.
Shar Katzner
President, League of Women Voters of Bowling Green
