COLUMBUS – Ohio’s top elections official is enlisting the beauty salons and barbershops that serve as social centers in neighborhoods of color in an effort to register voters and recruit poll workers ahead of the November 3 election.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose says the shops are not only places to get hair care services, but gathering places where neighbors can discuss politics and the issues of importance in the community, so he announced the launching of “Styling for Democracy. Now Vote!” at A Cut Above the Rest Barbershop on N. 20th Street in Columbus Monday.
The partnership with barbershops and salons and the schools that feed into them is designed to encourage members of their communities to sign up to be a poll worker, register family and friends to vote and educate the community on requesting and completing absentee ballots.
“If people are going to gather at a barbershop and have a political conversation, the next step is getting registered to vote; and if you really want to take it to the next level, sign up to be a poll worker so that your neighbors can have a free and fair election,” LaRose said.
LaRose’s office has partnered with 25 barber colleges and salon schools and is sending resources to over 100 schools across the state.
Meanwhile, LaRose says more than 115,000 inactive voter registrations will not be removed from the state’s voter rolls until after the election.
The final, revised figure represents the number of voter registrations that will be purged if they aren’t activated by Dec. 7.
LaRose made it clear that none of those registrations will be canceled before the Nov. 3 election.
The removal, required by law, affects Ohioans who haven’t voted in six years.
They can stay on the rolls by taking certain actions, such as voting, or confirming their address through the state’s voting website.