Using open election participation data to inform voter outreach in NYC

In 2020, the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) published an open data set containing a table of the 10-year election participation of every active registered voter in NYC as of the general election in 2018 (https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/Voter-Analysis-2008-2018/psx2-aqx3 ). This table includes a “participation score”, a score determined by the number of elections a person voted in over the number of elections they were eligible to vote in over the 10-year period of 2008-2018. The goal was to enable the CFB and other community groups to more effectively target GOTV outreach to areas in the city with lower voter participation.

As part of the GoVote NYC initiative, a nonpartisan initiative to strengthen democracy in New York City through civic engagement via community organizations sharing resources, information, and lessons from their Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts, Hester Street created an interactive GoVote NYC map (Bit.ly/GoVoteMap). The map includes layers of demographic information, community assets, and election information, including turnout and election participation data provided by the NYC Campaign Finance Board.

This event provides more information on why and how the CFB put together the participation table, how Hester Street incorporated this data into their interactive map, and how the CFB, Hester Street, and their partner organizations use it to perform outreach and envision how participation data can continue to support on-the-ground efforts to increase voter participation in future elections.

Presenters:
Jaime Anno, Data Manager, NYC Campaign Finance Board
Michael Perles, Project Manager, Hester Street
Devin Fields, Senior Project Associate, Hester Street