CEI History


2002

The Greater Boston Civic Engagement Initiative (CEI) was established in 2002 as a three-year, one million dollar, non-partisan effort to increase voter registration and mobilization in low-income communities and communities of color with historically low rates of voter participation. Over the previous 30 years, there has been a disturbing trend of declining voter participation in Boston and, until recently, nothing has been able to reverse that trend. While there are various roots to this trend, one that particularly affects cities is the decline of political parties’ ward mobilization efforts. Until recently, nothing has filled the mobilization and education void, except for episodic efforts—usually focused on one candidacy. The Civic Engagement Initiative uses a different approach. It invests in community-based organizations, such as community development corporations, health centers, service providers and ethnic alliances that include voter registration activities as one component of their work. The theory is that since they are embedded in their communities, they are trusted and have credibility to encourage voter participation as part of engagement in the local community.

The Civic Engagement Initiative was established by the Boston Foundation as a funding collaborative with the financial support of the Access Strategies Fund, the Hyams Foundation, the Miller Foundation, and the New Community Fund. Massachusetts Voter Education Network (MassVOTE), the Commonwealth Education Project, and a funder liaison consultant provide technical assistance and management. The CEI Funders Collaborative makes funding decisions and provides overall governance of the CEI.
In the first year, 19 Community Partners in Boston, Chelsea, Salem, and Lynn received one-year grants in the range of $15,000-$30,000. First year results include:

  • The CEI registered nearly 7,000 new voters.
  • The CEI grantees sponsored gubernatorial debates.
  • City of Boston commitments to provide grantees with timely voter information.
  • Recognition that the CEI contributed to making Boston one of the few cities in the country where voting among communities of color did not decline in the congressional election.

2003

In 2003, the CEI was refined after a third-party evaluation to provide two-year commitments to seven organizations in Boston and Chelsea. They were selected through a competitive Request for Proposal process similar to the first year. Grants were provided in the amount of $30,000 to each organization. Each of these organizations is required to fulfill a set of highly rigid documentation requirements. All seven organizations receive technical assistance in order to develop effective and efficient field operation plans and voter identification analysis, legal advice on developing nonpartisan voter registration, technology assistance in database development, and other services. Second year results indicate:

  • Overall, 2003 brought out 3,773 new voters compared to 1999; of these, 1,546 were in the 11 CEI precincts representing 41% of the new voters in District 4 for 2003.
  • In Boston, a Latino candidate ranked second, of 4 at-large seats, on the City Council.
  • In Chelsea, a Latino candidate topped the election.
  • Discriminatory voting practices were challenged by the CEI grantees and investigated by the Secretary of State, who concurred with the complaint and issued an immediate corrective order in time for the final election.
  • Voters of color voted at an unprecedented rate regardless of whether there were contested district races or not.


2004

In its third year, CEI continued to build on the foundation set in the previous years by adding one Community Partner, for a total of eight. The CEI expanded its voter education materials to reach multi-lingual communities and improved the use of the voter list technology by tailoring its functions to the needs of community-based organizing efforts. The CEI reported increases in voter registration and ballots cast in each of precincts in which Community Partners focused voter engagement activities.

Media outlets began to publicize the CEI efforts and report the impact for 2004, which is as follows:

  • Registrations in precincts with large ethnic populations (Latino, Black and Asian) were up 20% as compared to 2000.
  • Voter turnout was also high in precincts that are largely Latino, Black or Asian, but did not exceed the performance of 2003.
  • Voter turnout followed the same pattern. Turnout growth was highest in Black, Latino and college neighborhoods. The turnout gaps between neighborhoods are lessening.
  • The first Sheriff race was won by an African-American.

 

2005

In 2005, the changes were made to the CEI to expand the reach and effectiveness partly based upon the recommendations of a third-party evaluation team. The number of Community Partners was increased to ten when 2 community-based organizations from Boston’s Mattapan and East Boston neighborhoods joined the CEI, each receiving multi-year grants. Together, the Community Partners, with a combined focus of 58 precincts in Boston and Chelsea, work to increase voter turnout, voter registration and collaborate in public policy initiatives. The project continues to be managed by MassVOTE.

A comparison of the 2005 and 2001 mayoral election results finds that Boston had an increase of over 3,000 ballots cast. Much of this is attributed to the get-out-the-vote work, candidate forums and other voter engagement activities undertaken by CEI Community Partners.

The CEI impact for 2005 is as follows:

  • Ballots cast up 15.4% in CEI precincts versus 1.9% in non-CEI precincts.
  • Registration was up 12.8% in CEI precincts versus 4.5% in non-CEI precincts.
  • 5.9% increase in registration, amounting to 15,250 more voters than at the previous Mayoral election.
  • Media coverage of the CEI began to build with several articles written announcing its success.