Host a ballot party
Turn voting into a celebration. A step-by-step guide for our crew to host ballot parties across California.
Why host a ballot party
Black women are among the most consistent voters in the country and when we gather, we turn that turnout into power. A ballot party makes voting joyful, social, and easy: good food, music, community, and a clear plan to cast our ballots together.
We host because change doesn't happen to us when we show up it happens through us. Rooted in care and collective power, every party is a chance to bring mamas, grandmas, aunties, and neighbors into the work.
Three ground rules (read first)
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We encourage voting and share what's on the ballot — we do not advocate for or against any candidate, party, or measure.
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Anything you offer — food, giveaways, raffles — must go to everyone who comes, whether or not they vote or are even eligible. It's a celebration for the whole community.
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Check your county's rules on electioneering distance from polling places, permits, and event use before you set up.
Step 1 — Pick your kind of party
Voting in the Park / Party at the Polls: a celebration at or near an early-vote site so folks can vote before, during, or after.
Kitchen-table party: a smaller gathering at home to fill out mail ballots together with the voter guide open.
Watch party / phone-a-friend: gather to make a plan to vote, text your people, and celebrate once ballots are in.
Step 2 — Plan it
Location: pick a public, known space that's ADA-accessible, reachable by transit, and has power and sound. For a Party at the Polls, stay within walking distance of an early-vote center.
Date & time: schedule inside the early-voting window; weekends draw the biggest crowds. Give yourself a few weeks to plan and promote, and check for conflicts.
Invite multi-generationally: mamas, grandmas, aunties, teens aging into voting, neighbors, and church and community groups. Everybody votes — and everybody brings someone.
Line up the basics: food, a host or two, a sound setup, a welcome table, and printed materials.
Step 3 — What every ballot party needs
Free food. It's not a party without it — and it welcomes everyone in.
Music, games, or a performance. Make it feel like community, not a chore.
Voter education, front and center. Have the MBM voter guides on hand and help people check their registration, find their polling place, and make a plan.
A scan-to-vote station. Post a QR code and signs pointing to MobilizingBlackMamas.org for guides, resources, and to connect with the work.
Tangibles to take home. The MBM postcard, stickers, and voter guides so the message travels past the party.
A “Go Vote Together” moment. Build in a time when the whole group walks, rolls, or drives to the polls together, or fills out mail ballots side by side.
Step 4 — Get the word out
Start personal: invite your own circle first and ask each person to bring someone.
Tap trusted spaces: churches, salons, community centers, small businesses, and partner orgs.
Flyer and post: hang flyers where people gather, and share on Instagram, Facebook, and group chats. Post more than once.
Remind: text and email a week before, a few days before, and the day of.
Step 5 — Day-of checklist
Set up the welcome table, voter guides, QR signage, and food.
Greet everyone; make it warm from the door.
Midway, make an announcement: help everyone make their plan to vote.
Do the “Go Vote Together” moment.
Take photos and share the joy online, and point people to MobilizingBlackMamas.org.
Collect names/emails so folks can stay connected through MobilizingBlackMamas.org.
Get tje Ballot Party Host guide
Some promo copy to get Mamas to download the pdf.Some promo copy to get Mamas to download the pdf.
Built from: When We All Vote, “Party at the Polls” Host Guide (operational steps & nonpartisan rules); Black Women for Wellness — Fierce Aunties / VREAM civic engagement (voter education & accountability); Black Feminist Future toolkits & member Congress (rooted-in-care, collective-power framing)
Get ready to vote!
See what’s on your ballot, explore voter guides, and more.
About us
This emerging initiative is co-organized by the Abundant Birth Project and MotherBoard, in partnership with trusted allies across advocacy, policy, and research sectors.
The California Abundant Birth Project (CA ABP) is a guaranteed income program designed to improve birth outcomes by providing monthly, unconditional cash support to pregnant people at high risk of preterm birth. Originally launched as a San Francisco pilot, CA ABP has expanded to Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties.
By reducing financial stress during pregnancy and postpartum, CA ABP works to address racial disparities in preterm birth and low birth weight while supporting mothers in making the best decisions for themselves and their babies.
MotherBoard is a Los Angeles County–based advisory collaborative of Black mothers with young children working locally and statewide to shape policies, programs, and systems that impact Black families.
Rooted in lived experience, MotherBoard centers Black moms as decision-makers, not just participants, in advancing solutions at the intersection of healing, advocacy, and sustainable systems change. Our strategies include leadership development, community power-building, narrative change, policy advocacy, strategic advising, and co-design with government, philanthropy, and community partners.