More Black Ohioans sat out the last midterm than live in the entire city of Cleveland. At a moment when the work of registering and engaging voters is under open attack, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (OLBCF) chose Juneteenth to answer with the truth, releasing The State of Black Civic Power in Ohio, the first county-level analysis of Black midterm participation in the state, and launching Civic AF (All Facts), a digital series built to bring those voters back.
The release lands as voter registration and civic engagement organizations across the country face unprecedented scrutiny, part of a broader pattern in which the data and institutions that make Black communities visible are under pressure. OLBCF's response is to make Black Ohio more visible, not less. As the report states plainly, a community that is not counted cannot be represented.
The findings are direct. 603,000 eligible Black Ohioans did not vote in the last midterm, in a state where statewide races are decided by five to eight points. Ninety-five percent live in just eight counties, and the largest group, about 239,000, is between the ages of 25 and 44. If just one in ten returned to the polls, that is more than 60,000 new votes, enough to swing a Statehouse race, a county prosecutor's office, or a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.
"Across the country, the data and institutions that make Black communities visible are under attack, and Ohio is no exception. We are choosing Juneteenth to answer that with facts," said Shayla L. Davis, President and CEO of OLBCF. "603,000 eligible Black Ohioans were absent from the last midterm, not out of apathy, but because of barriers built over years and outreach that never came. A community that is not counted cannot be represented. Through this report and Civic AF, OLBCF is making Black Ohio impossible to ignore, and Black political power impossible to deny."
Civic AF is a 12-episode pilot running through November, targeting Black Ohioans ages 25 to 44. Episode one premieres today alongside the report, available at olbcfoundation.org. OLBCF invites funders, organizers, and elected officials to partner at olbcfoundation.org/get-involved.
The State of Black Civic Power in Ohio
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The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (OLBCF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to empowering
Ohio's Black community through educational research, community leadership development, public policy advocacy,
analysis of socio-economic issues, and the promotion of diversity and inclusion in both the public and private sectors.
