Written by Cynthia Wills , Community Impact Officer, and Kelly Casey, Senior Learning and Evaluation Officer
with input from Votos de Hartford ~ Coalición Vota de Hartford members and CTData Collaborative
Why is Civic Engagement Important?
A strong civic life in Greater Hartford contributes to better health, economic opportunity, and social mobility while also strengthening our democracy.
Civic engagement also is closely connected to how residents experience daily life in their communities. In Greater Hartford, 72 percent of adults report having a great or fair amount of trust in their local governments, yet in Hartford only 31 percent believe government is responsive (DataHaven, Greater Hartford Wellbeing Survey).
This gap in civic trust highlights why civic education must be paired with opportunities for residents to see that their participation can lead to meaningful change. Civic engagement efforts are underway across the Greater Hartford region leading up to the Municipal and Gubernatorial elections in the fall of 2026, led by organizations working to increase voter participation and strengthen residents’ connection to civic life.
The Hartford Votes Coalition, a convener of more than 20 civic organizations across Hartford, has been central to this work by connecting organizations working directly with residents, elevating community insights, and identifying opportunities for coordinated, nonpartisan civic engagement.
Over the past five years, the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation has been learning alongside the Coalition and other civic engagement partners as they work to deepen civic participation. Through convenings, reflection conversations, and reporting, partners share what they are finding from connecting with residents in Hartford and how it shapes their coordinated engagement activities.
Our civic engagement partners continue to explore the barriers that keep residents from participating consistently and meaningfully in civic life across Greater Hartford.
In this post, we are sharing 2023 to 2025 insights from our grant partners, data and learnings from CTData. We will also cover how these findings have informed collective work to strengthen civic engagement.
What the Data Shows
Recent data indicates a clear challenge: voter participation has declined in several Greater Hartford communities, with particularly low rates among residents who have historically been underrepresented in civic life, including Black and Latine voters, young voters ages 18–29, and Hartford residents. CTData Collaborative’s Connecticut 2024 Election Analysis shows that Hartford’s voter turnout declined from 63 percent in 2016, to 50 percent in 2020, to 43 percent in 2024. East Hartford also saw a significant decline, from 66 percent in 2020 to 51 percent in 2024.
Voter Turnout Changes by Town in the 2024 Presidential Election
Source: CTData Collaborative
There were notable declines in voter turnout across the 2016, 2020, and 2024 residential elections in several Greater Hartford communities (Table 1). These trends underscore the need for sustained civic education and participation strategies that extend beyond a single election year.
At the same time, voter registration efforts, between Hartford groups and registration at the CT DMV as part of the licensing process, have helped increase the number of registered residents in Hartford. This suggests that the challenge is not only about registration; it is also about whether residents feel informed, connected, and motivated to participate.
Civic Engagement in Greater Hartford: What We’ve Learned from Grantees
The Foundation analyzed reporting from grantees and reviewed findings with the Hartford Votes Coalition to better understand the emerging themes.
- Civic organizations have described barreras such as limited civic literacy, language access needs, and privacy concerns.
- Grantee partners have elevated voter apathy, voter alienation, mistrust in government and the feeling that their vote might not lead to change as key factors that affect sustained participation.
- Grantees emphasized that addressing these barriers requires more than outreach. It requires sustained civic education, trusted messengers, and opportunities for residents to see how civic participation connects to the issues that matter most in their daily lives.
- Organizations also highlighted the important role that collaboration plays in moving the work forward. Organizations are coordinating efforts and relying on each other’s strengths to increase civic engagement and education.
The data and lessons over recent years contributed to shifts in the types of activities the Foundation funds in support of a more informed civic life in the Greater Hartford region. Emerging themes highlighted that civic education is an important component to voter registration and engagement activities. The Foundation has prioritized activities that increase civic education and civic literacy as critical in building our civic infrastructure. These learnings led to the launch of the Civic Education and Civic Participation Request for Proposals, which supports nonpartisan efforts that help residents understand, access, and participate in civic life.
Through these efforts, the Foundation is supporting coordinated work among organizations that will educate and inform residents ahead of the 2026 municipal and gubernatorial elections. Residents need access to timely, trusted, and nonpartisan information that helps them feel prepared to participate. This includes civic education on candidates, issue voting, the role of local government, and other information that helps residents understand how decisions are made and how they can be involved.
Current research project and learnings
To better understand the underlying barriers to civic engagement, the Foundation and the Hartford Votes Coalition partnered with CTData Collaborative on an evaluation project Building Democracy: Moving the Needle on Voter Engagement in Hartford.
These findings will inform civic education efforts to effectively meet residents where they are and respond to the questions, concerns, and experiences that shape participation.
Through focus group discussions, the study explores why residents engage or do not engage in voting. So far, the study has found that:
- People do not vote due to: lack of information about candidates and/or the voting process; people do not see any changes or benefits as a result; or people perceptions of the politicians or voting process.
- People identified ways to increase voter turnout: candidates should engage with community directly; increase general awareness about the importance of voting; or provide more information about the issues in each election and the voting process.
Results from this research, along with information about a community event to share the research, will be available on this page.
The Foundation and the Hartford Votes Coalition are currently using learnings from the evaluation project to strengthen collaboration and civic education and participation work in Greater Hartford. In the coming months, these insights will be applied to continue to inform civic engagement efforts in our region, and we will share updates in a future blog post.
