Common Cause Ohio Protected Voter Access in the 2024 November General Election

Common Cause Ohio joined voting advocate partners from Ohio Voter Rights Coalition to recruit, train and equip Election Protection volunteers to support voters. Voting advocate organizations worked together across the state to make sure Ohioans had the tools they needed to vote and if not, could report any problems using the 866-OUR-VOTE nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline.

Our team mobilized field and call center volunteers in eight regions across the state and closely monitored county Boards of Elections as they prepared and implemented Early Vote and Election Day on November 5.

By the Numbers

• 1,832 calls and texts answered on Ohio’s 866-OUR-VOTE hotline
• 1,058 people signed up to join Ohio’s Election Protection program
• 887 volunteers attended at least one training
• 637 shifts in 29 counties were filled by Election Protection volunteers
• 291 polling locations in 19 counties monitored on Election Day
• 179 clergy and social workers trained as Peacekeepers
• 103 trained Peacekeepers signed up for 120 shifts
• 63 college poll monitors supported voter education at six campuses
• 55 volunteers attended 40 county Boards of Elections meeting
• 35 volunteers triaged more than 600 calls on Election Day

Additionally, we tracked and pushed back on mass voter challenges at county Boards of Elections (ranging from a handful to 16,000+) in the following 25 counties: Butler, Clark, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Geauga, Greene, Hamilton, Hocking, Knox, Lake, Licking, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery, Ottawa, Sandusky, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Warren, Washington, and Wood.

Here’s what some of our field volunteers had to say:

Volunteer with Election Protection

Our nonpartisan voter protection program seeks to ensure every eligible voter who wants to vote can do so, and every vote is counted accurately. This program is not affiliated with any party, candidate, or issue campaign.

Direct volunteer intervention is the most effective way to make sure voters aren’t disenfranchised by confusion over election rules, long lines, under-resourced polling places, and acts of intimidation or deception. 

With our election protection program, we help eliminate these obstacles and make elections more efficient by:

• Ensuring voters have access to the ballot box to make their vote count
• Providing voters with necessary voting information and answering their questions
• Quickly identifying and correcting any problems at polling places
• Gathering information to illustrate potential barriers to voting

Join us in safeguarding our elections by serving as a nonpartisan:

• Poll Monitor: Volunteers are assigned one or two nearby polling places in their community to check for lines, signage and curbside voting access. You will record any observations to our command center, help answer voters’ questions, and connect those who are denied a ballot to resources like the Election Protection Hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE. 
• Social Media Monitor: Volunteer from home and search for social media posts that share issues at the polls, connect voters to resources and support, and report election-related mis- and disinformation.
• Post Election Canvass Monitor: Join the post election day team that attends boards of elections meetings through certification and reports back to our coalition.                                  
• Command Center Volunteer:  (previous EP experience required.) Respond and field calls from voters concerning election deadlines, trouble at the polls, and other issues and track and record information accordingly.

Click below to learn more about the program, or to sign up to help us protect the vote!