QUANTIFYING INEQUITIES IN VOTER ACCESS TO ADVOCATE FOR EXPANDED ACCESS

The League of Women Voters of the City of New York (LWVNYC) is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to increase New Yorker participation in local communities and government through civics, voting, and issue advocacy. LWVNYC engaged a team to highlight inequity in voter access in NYC through the collection of qualitative data. The team first identified and analyzed available data to understand voting challenges, including the geographical distribution of poll sites, issues facing voters with disabilities, and barriers for voters whose first language is not English. The team designed and administered a survey to collect information from poll workers, and developed a tool to analyze the correlation between voter turnout and the geographical distribution of poll sites. In its final report, the team made recommendations for how to utilize the information, tools, and available data to advocate for strategies that address voting disparities in NYC.