It’s Time to Close the Racial Civic Participation Gap

Voting participation among people of color in Massachusetts reached a six-year high in 2016. This trend shows a decrease in the voter participation gap in communities of color and the overall electorate. While this is encouraging, much work remains to register and turn out voters of color to close this gap, and many obstacles stand in the way of achieving racial equity in civic participation.

An additional 16,951 people of color need to register to vote, and 179,073 voters of color need to turnout to reach parity. Our key opportunities lie in registering voters of color in gateway cities and increasing turnout in municipal, primary, and midterm elections.