CINCINNATI — A national nonpartisan nonprofit brought local DJs to 62 Cincinnati polling locations this Election Day to create a welcoming atmosphere and encourage more people to vote.
Started by Anton Moore in 2009, DJs at the Polls now has DJs bringing beats to ballots in 24 states this year. The group focuses on communities that are historically underrepresented to boost turnout among people of color and younger people.
Moore said the effort went from two DJs in South Philadelphia when it started to 2,000 DJs working across 5,000 polling locations in 2026.
WATCH: Voters in Cincinnati greeted at some polling stations with DJs looking to turn up voter turnout
"It gives a festive vibe. You get what I'm saying? You hear your song, you're like whoa. You see people over there dancing, you're like, oh wow, this isn't boring. This is fun," Moore said.
He said DJs, often familiar faces with followings in the community, can make voting feel more approachable to people.
"We get a voter turnout increase because, if you look at it too, the DJs in these areas... tend to know a lot of voters who aren't really engaged," he said. "So having them go on social media and talk about it and engage with voters helps with the turnout."
DJs are trained to follow local rules. Moore said they receive training two weeks before Election Day and then go over rules again the day before the election.
This Election Day was the first time Tobe Donohue, better known as Tobotius, had DJed an election. He hoped the music would create a welcoming space for those exercising their civic duty outside the Woodlawn Community Center.
"If it's something that's kind of familiar or feels homely to you, then you feel even more comfortable," Donohue said.
The scene caught people like former poll worker Pete King Jr. pleasantly by surprise.
"I've seen people tailgating, cooking brats and things, but nothing like this," King said. "This could soothe some young kids and make them at ease to hear this kind of music."
Over in Roselawn, Shelby Turney, who goes by DJ Shabba, had a party going on in the parking lot of the Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies. We asked him what music can do for people at the polls.
"Motivation, motivation, sense of freedom, so to speak," Turney said. "I mean, it's like how could you beat this with music? We're going to the polls."
Ahead of the high-stakes vote count, Moore said engagement matters now more than ever.
"You see them enthused to allow their voice to be heard; it's very important to get people engaged. People care about the issues. There are a lot of things that's affecting our communities," Moore said.
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