Music at the Ballot Box: Akron and Cleveland Polls Get DJ Sets
A nonprofit organization will deploy 2,000 DJs to 5,000 voting sites nationwide to make the experience more engaging.
By Nadia Singh ·
Election Day in Northeast Ohio will feature a distinct soundtrack as a nonpartisan group brings musical entertainment to polling stations. The nonprofit DJs at the Polls is scheduled to operate at 66 locations in the Akron and Cleveland area on Tuesday.
The organization aims to increase participation in areas with historically low turnout by making the act of voting a social and positive event. Anton Moore, the group's founder, started the initiative in 2009 to change the atmosphere of the voting process. Moore stated that the typical procedure felt dull and transactional, so he introduced live music to encourage interaction. "People were walking up, dancing, jamming, having fun," Moore said.
The organization plans to employ 2,000 DJs across 5,000 polling locations in 24 states for the 2026 midterms. The group has expanded from a single site in Philadelphia in its first year to this national scale. Moore cited randomized controlled trials indicating that their presence increases voter turnout. He noted that hearing a favorite song can shift a voter's mood, even if they arrived having a difficult day.
DJs are instructed to play neighborhood favorites and control their own set lists. They are prohibited from playing songs with explicit lyrics. The organization maintains that its staff does not endorse any political party or candidate and does not direct voters on how to cast their ballots.
Specific locations in the Cleveland and Akron regions include the Boys and Girls Clubs on Broadway Avenue in Cleveland, where a DJ will play from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Another set is scheduled at the Cleveland Heights Community Center from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The group has not released the complete list of all 66 sites in the area, citing security reasons for the partial disclosure.
