Strengthening Citizen Voices in Hawaii: Grassroot Institute Wins CEA for Innovation in Marketing

by Taylor Anderson. State Policy Network, August 26, 2025

In politics—like everything in life—the loudest voice is often the one that wins.

Ask any state legislator, and they’ll tell you that when local constituents reach out in support or opposition to a policy or bill, they listen. This isn’t a novel concept. Public servants are elected to serve the public. And for politicians who might not have as pure an outlook on their responsibilities, unhappy constituents equal unhappy voters.

Because of this, every policy-minded organization and political consultant has developed ways to garner as many messages to state legislators as possible. Yet this has led many state legislators to become frustrated with the amount of stock or form responses, and as a result, they may listen a little less.

This is the issue the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii set out to solve.

In 2025, Grassroot launched Ohana Voices, an artificial intelligence-powered civic-engagement platform developed in collaboration with the national software firm CiviClick.

The goal of Ohana Voices was to revolutionize how Hawaii residents communicate with legislators and participate in the democratic process. Ohana Voices makes submitting public testimony on state legislation easier, faster, and more personal.

Most traditional public engagement systems use templates that copy and paste generic information into form letters and send those to state legislators’ offices. While these can be effective in sending large numbers of messages supporting or opposing legislation, they often wind up diluting constituent voices with generalized, identical messages.

Ohana Voices revolutionizes that concept.

Ohana Voices uses AI to generate hundreds of unique and authentically customized messages, tailored to each user. With just a few clicks, constituents can submit impactful, original testimony directly to their lawmakers.

Ohana Voices gives Grassroot the ability to utilize their existing research and expand their audience by enabling voters to submit relevant, emotional, and policy-specific messages to their lawmakers. And by designing the interface around the user experience, the Grassroot team removed the intimidation factor of engaging with public officials while amplifying each individual constituent’s story.

Grassroot marketed Ohana Voices by developing an email and social campaign timed perfectly to engage with Hawaii residents during the state’s short five-month legislative session.

During Hawaii’s 2025 state legislative session, Ohana Voices helped Grassroot reach first-time civic participants as well as longtime Grassroot supporters who appreciated a more streamlined way to get involved in the legislative process.

In the first year of Ohana Voices’ operation:

• State legislators received almost 1,900 submissions from Hawaii constituents via the platform.
• More than 50% of all submissions have been public testimony or conference committee emails.
• Constituents used the platform to personalize and customize 22% of submissions.
• A bill intended to speed up rebuilding in Lahaina after the town’s destruction by wildfires received 118 constituent testimonies from the platform.
• 220 testimonies helped defeat a proposed increase in Hawaii’s capital gains tax.
• Lawmakers have repeatedly cited these testimonies in hearings and private meetings.
• The priority bills of the Grassroot Institute regularly received 100+ testimonies via Ohana Voices.

Ohana Voices is the first platform of its kind in Hawaii (and possibly nationwide). Because of the program’s successful rollout, the Grassroot team was able to garner incredible success during the 2025 legislative session. And by learning from the platform’s successful first year, Grassroot now has an effective new way to mobilize their 41,000+ email subscribers. For the innovative development of Ohana Voices and its successful rollout, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is the winner of the 2025 SPN Communication Excellence Award for Best Innovation in Marketing.

Great public servants know the importance of listening to their constituents. And at a minimum, every successful elected leader knows how to get re-elected. With Ohana Voices, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has reframed how constituents (in Hawaii and potentially nationwide) are able to connect with their legislators and make their voices heard.

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LINK: Get Involved | Grassroot Institute of Hawaii