Antoinette Cartman-Gay chattered cheerfully from the back seat of Jonathan Platt’s car on the way back to her Euclid office from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, where she had just cast her early vote.
The pair, who bonded quickly over their passion for participating in American democracy, had never met prior to the late October car ride.
They were matched through national Democratic organization Rideshare2Vote, which operates in 20 states including the seven swing states. Cartman-Gay, a Cleveland-based entrepreneur who said she likes to provide voting resources to others in the community, wanted to try out the service, which launched in Ohio in 2021. Platt, a Hunting Valley resident and patent lawyer, has volunteered for years.
"I am a big believer in our democracy, and I think it's important enough to fight for and to support," Platt said. "And with this, well, it's not just giving someone a ride to the polls; but it's standing up to defend our democracy."
Getting a ride to the polls can be an obstacle for some voters, like older adults, those with disabilities or people without vehicles and public transit options. A 2016 Harvard study found that 14% of nonvoters said transportation was a "major factor" in why they did not vote in that election.
"I decided to sign up for the ride so I could utilize the service myself and see what it was like so spread the knowledge of a way to get to the polls," Cartman-Gay said. "There are many people who can't get out to vote: our elder community, they may not have family that's available to give them rides, lower income families without cars that depend on being at work every single hour that they're supposed to be at work, I think it affects them as well."
Platt dropped Cartman-Gay at the back of the early voting line, which spilled out the front door and wrapped around the back of the board of elections building a week ahead of Election Day. He waited for about an hour in an overflow parking lot several blocks away before picking her up out front when she had finished casting her ballot.
"I actually enjoyed this," Cartman-Gay said. "It was absolutely amazing. And given the amount of folks that showed up to arrive today, I felt like a queen being able to walk out the front door and just get right into the car."
Rideshare2Vote operates in Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery, Summit and Warren counties.
Other organizations, like the nonpartisan, Cleveland-based VoterDrive, also pairs voters in need of a ride with local drivers.
In Summit County, the Akron NAACP is partnering to provide free rides to the early vote center and the polls.
On Election Day, Rideshare apps like Lyft and Uber are offering 50% discounts with codes available on their websites.
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will also offer free rides on buses, rail and paratransit from 3 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, to 3 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. Akron Metro RTA is also providing free bus rides.
