A nonpartisan group is looking to bring the beat to the ballot box in Northeast Ohio on Election Day in 2026.
DJs at the Polls will be providing tunes at select polling sites across the country, including at 66 polling places in the Akron and Cleveland area on Tuesday.
The national nonprofit focuses on areas that have previously recorded low voter turnout as a way to encourage people to come out, vote and celebrate.
Anton Moore founded DJs at the Polls in 2009 because he wanted to make voting a positive community experience.
“The process of voting is so boring,” Moore said. “People come in, vote and walk away. So, I decided, let's try putting a DJ at a polling location and see what happens. People were walking up, dancing, jamming, having fun.”
The DJs are trained to play fun neighborhood favorites. They control the set list, but they aren’t allowed to play songs with explicit lyrics.
The organization said its DJs do not endorse a party or candidate or tell anyone how to vote.
Moore said randomized controlled trials have shown that what they do can significantly boost voter turnout.
“It's amazing, walking up, your favorite song comes on and you start the 2-step, and everybody's feeling good,” Moore said. “Someone could be having a bad day, but when they step up to DJs at the Polls and see the DJ outside, it changes their whole mindset.”
DJs at the Polls has grown from one polling location in Philadelphia in its first year to 5,000 polling locations in 24 states in 2026. In these midterms, they will employ 2,000 DJs to brighten up polls across the country.
DJs at the Polls said it doesn't release the full list of sites where it will deploy DJs in Cleveland and Akron due to security reasons, but it did say it will be at the Boys and Girls Clubs on Broadway Avenue in Cleveland from 7 to 11 a.m. on Election Day and at the Cleveland Heights Community Center from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
