Quincy Votes! Raises $10,000 for 2025 Voter Turnout Campaign

Local nonprofit Quincy Votes! held its first ever fundraiser at Cagney’s Pub on January 31, bringing together local leaders and community members in a shared mission to increase voter participation in Quincy. Thanks to donations from attendees and sponsors and a silent auction featuring items and services donated by local businesses and individuals, the group raised more than $10,000 for its nonpartisan Quincy Votes Local! 2025 campaign to get out the vote in the November 4 city election.

Throughout the night, more than 70 attendees connected for meaningful conversations, inspiring prepared words, and live music, tying lived experiences in Quincy with the importance of democratic participation.

Quincy Votes! co-founder Liz Speakman emceed the event, which featured songs by local musician Jon Gorey and speeches from State Senator John Keenan, UMass Boston linguistics professor Christian Chun, Quincy Votes Local! 2025 coordinator Shiv Singh, and Quincy Votes! student board members Alexander Schramm and Amy Tan. 

Senator Keenan said that civic engagement is “a way to let those in government know that you want to participate.” North Quincy High School senior and president of the student political engagement and debate clubs, Alexander Schramm, touched on engaging newly eligible teen voters and the need for accessible information regarding local elections in the city. North Quincy senior and school committee representative Amy Tan said she hopes to major in government in college and added that this event is “just the start to our mission of increasing voter turnout.” Dr. Chun emphasized the importance of community and inclusion, recounting an advocacy work experience where he was told he did not belong, as well as the role of information in shaping the future of the city. 

Pictures and video clips from Quincy Votes!’s first fundraiser on Jan. 31, 2025. Credit: Liz Emmons

The money raised will fund the Quincy Votes Local! 2025 campaign, which is aimed at increasing civic engagement and voting in one of Quincy’s lowest-turnout and highest-diversity precincts: Ward 6, Precinct 2 (in North Quincy). At the event, campaign coordinator Shiv Singh shared some statistics about the precinct that surprised and dismayed the assembled crowd.

In 2021, the last similar election to the one this November, she said just 196 people in the precinct – 12% of eligible voters – cast ballots for city councilors and three school committee members. To raise that number, Quincy Votes Local! 2025 will provide multilingual election materials and voter guides to precinct residents. It will also conduct community outreach, including at the upcoming Lunar New Year festival at North Quincy High School on February 16. 

The goal is to increase political participation in the 2025 local election and then take lessons learned from that effort to increase local election participation in other under-engaged precincts going forward.  

The map on the left above shows 2020 US census data only; the map on the right above voting data only. Lower percentages in both are marked in darker colors.

You can see that the precinct with the highest voter turnout, 6-5, has a low percentage of people of color, and the three precincts with the highest percentage of people of color (3-3, 3-5, and 6-2) turned out relatively few voters.

Image: Dave Shiga

As the city approaches its next election on November 4, 2025, Quincy Votes! remains committed to ensuring that every eligible resident – regardless of language, background, or prior voting experience – has the resources and support to make their voice heard at the ballot box. This fundraiser marks a significant step in the organization’s efforts to broaden local political participation and strengthen civic engagement. 

Quincy Votes! credits the following sponsors and silent auction contributors for making the fundraiser a success: Patricia Mortimer, The South Shore Chess Club, Gregory & Mary Jo Baryza, Karl Becker, Mary Ellen Reardon, Speakman Excavating, LLC, Bonnie Gorman, Liz Speakman, Mary Lally, Richard Ash, Mallory Portraits, Alice Caldwell, Kristen Chaput, Paul Percival, New England Base Camp, TreeTop Adventures, Olindy’s Candlepin Bowling, Lori Earl, South Shore YMCA, Fit Factory Braintree, Redbird & Rabbit Energy Medicine, Healing Tree Yoga, Capella Yoga, Milton Art Center, Boston Area Spanish Exchange, The Next Chapter Books and More, Edible Southeastern Massachusetts magazine, Ben Houston, Ben Kirby, Medilush, Refresh Salon, Morrissey Nails, Diane Elizabeth, Alfredo’s, William James Gifts, McKay’s Diner, Abby Park/Novara, Fratelli’s Pastry Shop, Sly Fox Tavern, Bright Light Restaurant, Curry Ace Hardware, and Danny’s Hardware.

Attendees bid on items and services donated by local businesses and supporters

If you’d like to donate to Quincy Votes!, you can use your credit card to do so through the link at quincyvotes.org/donate. To join our mailing list and/or volunteer with us, please visit bit.ly/qvlist or email quincyvotes@gmail.com.

Please like and follow Quincy Votes! on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X, Bluesky, and Nextdoor so you can stay informed and help us share voter information and important election dates!

— Press release written by Amy Tan and edited by Heather Doney and Maggie McKee