Release of New Voting Data Platforms Aimed at Boosting Voting, Civic Participation in Capital City

The Hartford Votes ~ Vota Coalition, in partnership with the Connecticut Data Collaborative and the BSL Educational Foundation, announces the release of two data resources which aim to inform outreach and voter engagement work and boost civic participation on the Capital City.

• The first is a voting data dashboard, “Hartford Neighborhood Explorer”, a public resource to help understand the demographics and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods in the City of Hartford.
• The second is a data story entitled “Voting Behavior in the 2019 Mayoral Hartford Election”, which provides readers with a walk-through of who voted in the city’s most recent municipal election and will assist in preparing and focusing outreach as we head towards the Mayoral Election in November.

Photo byDeposit Photos

The November general election will determine the new Mayor of Hartford as well as elect the City Council and Treasurer. Municipal elections are very important, as the decisions of local officials directly affect the daily lives of Hartford residents. However, as a city, Hartford continues to struggle with low voter turnout and lack of civic engagement.

The Hartford Votes ~ Vota Coalition, CT Data Collaborative, and BSL Educational Foundation believe that these new data resources will assist both the general public and those working to improve voter engagement by helping to get out the vote on Election Day, November 7. It is the first time that such data will be easily accessible to Hartford residents in formats that can inform local residents and civic engagement initiatives.

• The “Hartford Neighborhood Explorer” site features all 18 neighborhoods that make up the city. Users may select a neighborhood of interest to view data including the total number of registered voters, percentage of voter turnout, median household income, and population characteristics such as race, age, education level, and gender. Users of the site can also select the comparison tool to directly compare the demographics of two different neighborhoods.
• The “Voting Behavior in the 2019 Mayoral Hartford Election” page displays the voting patterns in the 2019 Hartford mayoral election. The analysis is divided into three sections: “Total Voters & Share of Residents 18 and Older”, “Voter Turnout” and “Voter Turnout & Neighborhood Characteristics”.

As an element in developing the extensive new resources and data visualizations, CT Data Collaborative sought public input through a community engagement process to identify data that participating organizations indicated would be useful in voter registration, education and engagement efforts in the city.

CT Data Collaborative staff met with the Hartford Votes ~ Vota Coalition, which includes a number of Hartford organizations that are engaged in get-out-the-vote activities as part of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s Get Out the Vote (GOTV) grant program (including the BSL Educational Foundation, Inc.); they identified data that would be helpful in their work. The Connecticut Secretary of State Voter Registration file was used in the development of the data resources in this initiative.

Sarah Eisele-Dyrli, Assistant Director of CT Data Collaborative, said, “CTData created these dashboard and data walk resources, along with numerous visualizations, to help people gain insight into the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods in the city to inform outreach efforts. We appreciate the tremendous input we received, and look forward to continued initiatives to increase civic engagement.”

"The goal of the Hartford Votes~Vota Coalition is to increase voter engagement and turnout in Hartford,” said Richard Frieder, Coordinator of Hartford Votes Coalition. “Having access to good data and data analysis is essential and forms part of the foundation of what we do. We are very excited about these new data tools and we thank CTData and the Hartford Foundation for making this work possible.”

Brandon McGee, President of the BSL Educational Foundation, added “We at BSL are delighted to have helped make this work possible. It will be a significant contribution to achieving a very important part of our mission: to help young people, including those of voting age and future voters, participate in the democratic process and learn how to be contributors to the success of their communities.”

Hartford Votes ~ Vota Coalition was established in 2003. The all-volunteer Coalition has expanded since its founding into a membership-based organization, and is broadening its focus to year-round civic engagement and education primarily for Hartford residents. The mission of the Coalition is to increase voter engagement and voter turnout in Hartford. www.hartfordvotes.org

Co-sponsors of this initiative include the CT Data Collaborative and BSL Educational Foundation.

CT Data Collaborative is a network of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and philanthropic partners that facilitate data sharing and data integration. They strive to support informed decision-making by connecting data users, democratizing access to public data, and building data literacy. www.ctdata.org/

The BSL Educational Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit a 501(c)3 organization that focuses on providing scholarships to college-ready students, youth development programs, training, and development. BSL Educational Foundation encompasses the implementation of various education programs and initiatives, and receives grants from local corporations, civic groups, faith-based institutions, and individual sponsorships. www.bsleducation.org/

This initiative was made possible with the generous support of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. www.hfpg.org