KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Wyandotte County is joining a national movement to energize voters on Election Day, and it comes with a soundtrack.
DJs at the Polls is bringing 2,000 DJs to 5,000 polling locations across 24 states this Election Day. In Wyandotte County alone, DJs will be performing at 18 sites.
Ben Richardson, known as DJ Ben Rich, is among the performers. By day, he is an electrical engineer. But for the past 17 years, he has built a second life behind the turntables — even founding a DJ academy to teach kids how to mix.
"One of the reasons I got into DJing was to bring people together. So this is another way to extend that outside of what you would normally do, maybe a birthday party or school dance," Richardson said.
DJs at the Polls was founded by Anton Moore. He started his career in music at iHeart Media in Philadelphia before going on to work on BET's "Rap City: Tha Basement," a show featuring DJs from around the world. A pivot into politics sparked the idea.
"I transitioned into politics, and I realized voting day was boring, Election Day was boring," Moore said. "So I said, you know what, let me try to put two DJs at one voting location in South Philadelphia at 23rd and Snyder. People loved it."
What started as two turntables at one poll in 2009 has grown into a national movement. DJs at the Polls was officially founded in 2012. The initiative gained momentum during the 2020 election, was active in 11 states in 2024 and has expanded to 24 states this year. With 15,000 DJs in its system, Moore believes the network's strength lies in who DJs already are to their communities.
"If you look at DJs, they're the people that's at our barbecues, at our weddings, our baby showers, all the great events. Family reunions. So they have that connections to families and neighborhoods and people," Moore said. "So with them being able to go on social media and let people know, 'Look, I'm a part of this process as well, I want you to join me.' It's going to bring that demographic out, and you're going to see an increase like we've been seeing in multiple elections."
Wyandotte County is the most diverse county in Kansas but has historically low voter turnout — precisely the community DJs at the Polls was designed to reach.
According to the Wyandotte County Election Office, more than 5,000 voters cast their ballots early during 2025's general election. This year, that number has climbed to over 17,000 as of Monday afternoon.
"A lot of times, we tend to put stuff on social media and give our thoughts but not show up at the polls and numbers are low," Moore said.
For Richardson, the opportunity also carries personal meaning. He is a Wyandotte County native who will be spinning at the Kensington Recreation Annex, which holds childhood memories.
"Actually, here at Kensington, I used to play basketball here growing up," Richardson said.
I visited a group of seniors who gather at Kensington each week ahead of Election Day. Among them was Lester Duck Warner, who had already voted early.
"One of the few ways that we have to voice our opinion is through the vote," Warner said. "You gotta get out of the house and get something done."
Evelyn Redwine was also in the group. For her, coming to Kensington is about more than civic duty.
"I'm a widow, so when you're sitting at home by yourself, you can get kind of depressed a little bit. So when you're around people that are up and about and doing things, it's fun," Redwine said.
Richardson hopes Election Day can feel the same way — like a place people want to be.
"One of the big things is just knowing that everyone has a voice and make sure their voice is heard during voting. My purpose is just to find a great atmosphere for them to do that as well," Richardson said.
Moore has a message for voters.
"The more you vote, the more you get," Moore said.
Richardson will perform at two Wyandotte County locations on Election Day. His first set is at Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. He will then move to Kensington Recreation Annex, 2900 State Ave., from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., when polls close.
In addition to the 18 locations in Wyandotte County, DJs at the Polls will be at 28 locations in Wichita.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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