In anticipation of the Midterm Elections, NLIHC’s nonpartisan Our Homes, Our Votes (OHOV) campaign held its November 2 webinar, “Election Protection: Ensuring Voter Access & Overcoming Suppression in 2026.” This event concluded OHOV’s year-long webinar series that worked to educate and equip housing advocates with the tools needed to civically engage community members.
The panelists focused their discussion on voter rights, election protection resources, and on showcasing the impact of voter engagement events supported by Our Homes, Our Votes’ mini-grant program. Chantelle Wilkinson, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Campaigns at the coalition, kicked off the webinar by highlighting the growth of OHOV’s platform through the affiliate network, NLIHC membership, newsletter, and social media. Wilkinson discussed the recent mobilization by over 200 organizations in opposing the harmful proposed Census rule change that seeks to undermine fair representation. She also discussed NLIHC’s Our Homes, Our Votes’ recent collaboration with the 10 Steps Campaign and Leader Stacey Abrams for a Substack article on the intersection of housing and the Census. Finally, Wilkinson emphasized the need for sharing the OHOV webinars widely throughout the affordable housing space to ensure advocates have the tools needed to reach their communities.
Zaria Guignard, Manager of Census and Civic Engagement at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC began the conversation with an overview of election access under the Voting Rights Act. Section 203 of the VRA, which applies to certain jurisdictions, ensures multilingual residents can cast their ballot by requiring translated election materials and bilingual poll workers. Section 208 of the VRA lets voters with disabilities and multilingual voters bring someone into the voting booth to help them cast their ballot. Guignard discussed federal protections against voter intimidation, including federal law enforcement agents being prohibited from being at the polls. To address voter intimidation or voter assistance needs, Guignard closed by highlighting the multilingual options within the Election Protection Hotlines, which ensure that all community members can access the resources needed to cast their ballot.
Gabrielle Velasco, Election Protection Expert at State Voices continued the conversation by providing resources to ensure residents can fairly cast their ballots. Velasco emphasized the importance of election protection efforts in ensuring disenfranchised and underrepresented communities can make their voices heard. She highlighted how protecting elections is a year-round effort, with volunteers and voter education needed before Election Day. Velasco concluded by covering 866 Our Vote’s Field Monitors, which help resolve common voting issues and ensure voters know their rights at the ballot box, along with election hotlines available in multiple languages.
Tasha White, Founder & Executive Director at HELP Carolina followed up with a discussion on civic engagement work done at the local level as a recipient of an Our Homes, Our Votes mini-grant. White worked in partnership with community leaders to civically engage residents through a teen summit and Juneteenth event. She outlined strategies housing advocates can use to engage their own residents, including relying on community partners for support, outreach to political candidates on housing issues, and civic engagement circles to bring leaders together on affordability issues.
Lindsay Duvall, Manager of Member Engagement at NLIHC wrapped up the discussion by speaking on how advocates can continue to support affordable housing through the coalition's member network. Duvall highlighted the importance of working after the election to support affordable housing policies, with a strong member network signaling to lawmakers that housing solutions matter. Members also receive benefits, including discounted tickets to the 2027 Housing Policy Forum in Washington, DC.
Webinar Resources
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Additional Resources
Vote Safely in 2026: Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC’s factsheet outlines information to protect voters from intimidation, including what to do if ICE officers or federal troops are at polling locations. It is available in multiple Asian languages: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/publication/vote-safely-2026.
2026 Voter Readiness Checklist: Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC’s guide provides tips and assistance for voting in-person and by mail: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/publication/2026-voter-readiness-checklist.
866-OUR-VOTE Hotlines: Election Protection Hotlines available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic, and Asian Languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Bengali): https://866ourvote.org/.