NYC's Noncitizen
Municipal Voting
Research

MIXED METHOD RESEARCH INFORMING MULTILINGUAL VOTER CAMPAIGN

CLIENT

New York City Campaign Finance Board / NYC Votes

PROJECT DURATION

March - June 2022

ROLE

Design Researcher + Strategist

TEAM

3x3 innovation agency

Team of 3 + 7 Community Researchers

photo credit

Jason Ciaccia

In 2023, New York City was poised to become the largest city in the U.S to grant noncitizens the right to vote in local elections. 3x3 was engaged by New York City Campaign Finance Board to conduct a research study to understand public awareness and perceptions of a new municipal voting law for non-citizens. Our research goal was to ensure an inclusive research process that connects newly eligible voters with the campaign's messaging.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Design Research Lead Co-developed research plan, designed interview guides and participatory workshops, facilitated focus groups and conducted 1:1 interviews with immigrant organizations, government agencies, and new voters.
Partnership Lead Managed CBO partnerships, led outreach and recruitment efforts, and onboarded community researchers
Project Manager Co-managed project timelines and work plans and served as the primary point of contact for partner communications.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS

The New York City Campaign Finance Board planned to use the research findings and recommendations to inform the design and delivery of culturally responsive and multilingual materials for a citywide registration campaign, aiming to engage new non-citizen voters in early 2023.

This research would have supported a significant expansion of voting rights for immigrant communities, regardless of their citizenship status. Unfortunately, a court ruling struck down the initiative, which is currently undergoing an appeal process.

OUTCOMES

Informed a culturally responsive campaign for a citywide initiative.
Identified key barriers to participation enabling clearer and actionable voter education.
Improved message clarity by delivering tested terminology and recommendations
Embedded equity into the research process by creating an inclusive framework for future campaign development.

IMPACT

CHALLENGE

How might the perception of the new municipal voting law impact newly eligible immigrant voters' participation in upcoming city elections?

Under the new law, Intro 1867, an estimated 800,000 non-citizens, including permanent residents, work visa holders, and DACA recipients, would be able to vote in NYC local elections for the first time. Early assumptions from our team and partners suggested that most new eligible voters were unaware of this opportunity. There was no precedent in NYC for researching non-citizen municipal voting at this scale and, therefore, limited data on awareness levels, cultural perceptions of voting, or effective outreach strategies for this large, untapped population.

RESEARCH GOALS

Surface public awareness and perception of the new law
Identify barriers and drivers that may prevent or encourage engagement
Understand how linguistic nuances and visuals resonate with potential voters
Identify trusted messengers and channels by understanding past experiences and the historical context of diverse communities

APPROACH

Understanding our target audience

CENSUS POPULATION ANALYSIS

Our team partnered with a data analyst to conduct census analysis to estimate the total population of eligible voting age noncitizens in NYC and their geographic distribution by demographic indicators such as language, race, digital access, educational attainment.

We learned:

39% of NYC’s foreign-born population are voting-age non-citizens.
The majority of voting age non-citizens identify as Hispanic/Latino/Latinx.
The majority of Spanish and Chinese-speaking noncitizen immigrants live in Queens and Brooklyn.

Distribution of voting age non-citizens in NYC

Process Alignment Workshop_engagement roadmap_edited.png

ENGAGEMENT MAPPING WITH STAKEHOLDERS

I facilitated a cross-partner workshop to align on engagement phases, sampling goals, constraints, and success metrics. This process enabled us to prioritize a clear sampling criteria and develop a shared roadmap with defined measures of success.

RESEARCH PROCESS

Methodology snapshot

Survey

217

Use printed and digital surveys to establish a baseline of eligible new voters’ sentiments and priorities

Key Expert
Inteviews

6

In-depth interviews with organizations serving immigrant communities

1:1
Interviews

20

Semi-structured interviews with eligible new voters

Focus Group
Sessions

8

Focus group sessions held in 5 languages (N=50 participants)

Building an inclusive recruitment strategy

MULTILINGUAL OUTREACH

We prioritized language access throughout recruitment and research.

Qualitative research was conducted in English, Chinese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Bengali, and Arabic, with surveys also available in Russian.
All materials for print, social media, and surveys were designed in these 6 languages and included QR code access.
To reach individuals without internet access or limited digital literacy, we distributed printed surveys and posters in diverse ethnic neighborhoods and conducted tabling and canvassing at various community events.

PARTNERING WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO BUILD TRUST

Our primary recruitment strategy focused on partnering with CBOs directly serving NYC’s immigrant population. I was responsible for outreach to 40+ CBOs and managed the relationship and recruitment process with the final 9 CBO partners selected based on our target neighborhoods and language groups.