How the Civic Lottery Works

Here’s one of the most common questions about Akron’s Civic Assembly on Housing: How are people chosen to participate?

The answer: through a lottery that’s carefully designed to be fair, transparent, and truly representative of the city.

Why a Lottery?

The Civic Assembly uses a random lottery to invite residents from across the city to participate, ensuring the Assembly reflects real Akron—not just the loudest voices, the people with the most free time, or panels of experts.

Any Akron resident can apply. From there, participants are chosen by chance, much like jury duty, but with extra care taken to make sure the chosen Assembly reflects the city as a whole.

Making Sure the Assembly Reflects Akron

Unify Akron is using Panelot, a trusted civic lottery tool used by cities around the world. Panelot helps manage the selection process in a way that is:

• Random

• Transparent

• Protected from political influence

The software ensures that no one is hand-picked and that the process can be clearly explained to the public.

After residents’ applications are collected, Panelot identifies a group of residents that looks like a cross-section of the city. The group will broadly mirror Akron in the following categories.

Data taken from 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimate. Ward population information taken from 2020 Proposed Wards for the City of Akron. Gender affiliation information augmented by Pew Research’s ongoing study of LGBTQ+ Self Identification. Political party affiliation information taken from Summit County Ammended Offical Canvas 2024.

This matters because housing affects people differently depending on where they live and on their life circumstances. A representative group leads to better conversations, and better solutions.

Support Makes Participation Possible

Assembly members receive support like compensation, childcare, and transportation help. This ensures people can participate fully, not just those who can afford to volunteer their time.

Why This Approach Matters

The lottery is about fairness. It’s designed to give  every resident a real chance to be at the table. And it ensures the Assembly’s decisions and recommendations are informed by people who represent the wide range of experiences and perspectives across Akron.

By using a transparent lottery and careful demographic balance, Akron’s Civic Assembly brings together voices from the whole community—and turns those voices into action.

If you live in Akron, your perspective matters. This lottery is how the city makes sure of it.