With less than a month left to register to vote in the November election and to complete the census, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library has teamed up with community partners to help increase access.
The United Way of Greater Toledo, along with members of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library and Metroparks Toledo held its first “Democracy Days,” on Saturday at various library locations and at Swan Creek Preserve Metropark to help community members register to vote, get an absentee ballot, or learn about the upcoming census.
Additional days are scheduled Sept. 19 and Sept. 26 at all library branches, select metroparks, and the Ohio Unity Coalition.
The libraries have always served as a location for people to fill out voter registration forms. The scheduled events are taking place as the census deadline is Sept. 30 and the voter registration deadline is Oct. 5.
“We’re encouraging people to register to vote and encourage them to vote early as well — whether that’s absentee or voting at the early voting center — so we have information for that. If they haven’t been counted in the census, we’re encouraging them to do that too,” said Will Harbauer, the Waterville Branch library manager and one of the organizers of the Democracy Days. “This is the first time we’ve done something like this. You don’t really have a major election at the same time as a census. The last time that happened was 2000.”
All library locations will host Democracy Days from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 26. Volunteers will also be present at Ohio Unity Coalition, 2903 Dorr St., and Ottawa Park on Saturday, and at Navarre Park on Sept. 26.
The Ohio Unity Coalition will also host sign-ups from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 22.
On top of all of that, the coronavirus pandemic has made matters a little more complicated. So, the library is also offering curbside voter registration at all of the branch locations during open hours.
Once the voter registration is completed, library staff will deliver them to the Lucas County Board of Elections, or people can send it in themselves, Mr. Harbauer said.
Over the weekend, The Movement, a local grassroots organization, separately focused on voter registration, ballot access, and voter participation. A group marched from the 1700 block of Spielbusch Avenue to the Lucas County Board of Elections at Government Center to drop off absentee ballot applications and voter registration forms.
“This county’s voters will not be denied their voice in this election,” Michael Ashford, chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, said in a statement. “Led by groups like The Movement, we will overcome all the obstacles that are being placed in our way. People trying to silence our community will not succeed.”
Local Republican chairman Mark Wagoner said they are also working to make sure community members are registered to vote or that they have access to an absentee ballot through reaching out to people through phone calls, social media, and in person, as well as mailing information. Last week, five additional people registered to vote and three people signed up to work as poll workers, Mr. Wagoner said.
Additionally, local leaders are encouraging residents in Lucas County to complete a census form. Information is provided at the Democracy Days events.
“This is a way to work with all of these great partners to communicate to as many people as possible that registering to vote and being counted in the census are ways to really use your voice, say that you’re here, and say that you want to be represented in this way,” said Gretchen DeBacker, Toledo’s legislative director.
Census information is collected every 10 years, so while one was completed in 2010, it wasn’t a presidential election year. On Saturday, a census worker was present at the Mott branch, at 1010 Dorr, because that area has been a lower count for the census, Mr. Harbauer said.
“Anything you can think of, anything that any resident in our community can think of that impacts their daily lives — roads, the highway system, turnpike exits, food support at schools, the number of schools, the number of teachers, the number of police, the number of firefighters — determines what is available in our community in a very broad sense is determined by what these census numbers say,” Ms. DeBacker said.
A full list of federally subsidized program is available at 2020census.com.
Volunteers interested in participating in Democracy Days can sign up online or contact Taylor Coleman at the United Way at 419-254-4668.
First Published September 14, 2020, 5:58 p.m.
