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The Precinct Project at WSU's first report is live

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The Precinct Project at Worcester State University brings together interdisciplinary teams of faculty, students, and community members who collaboratively explore the region’s political and civic cultures at both micro- and macro-levels. The project aims to examine local elections and politics at granular levels to understand how and why voters behave the ways they do, and explore how Central Massachusetts communities can increase municipal voter turnout to realize more representative democracies in their cities and towns. This work is intended to be both for and with the community.

Its first publication, a report written over the summer of 2026, establishes some of the basics of the project and a few of its methodological approaches (historical research, geospatial analysis, and quantitative statistical modeling). It contains GIS maps and data details of selected precincts, analysis of important metrics in Worcester's municipal elections, and statistical modeling that explores who actually votes in Worcester and how activating different types of voters in different city areas could change city election outcomes. This report can be found on The Precinct Project's website.

The research team for this publication was made up of WSU faculty, students, and staff. It included: Ben Barter, Dr. Alex Briesacher, Dr. Tom Conroy, Alyssa Corrazini, Dr. Bill Hansen, Alexa James, Dr. Megan Moran, and Ava Potts. The Precinct Project brings together four WSU academic centers:  WSU CityLab, Geospatial Analysis Lab, Center for Social & Structural Dynamics, and the John J. Binienda Center for Civic Engagement.

Upcoming reports for The Precinct Project include deep dives into the city's wards and a study of school committee elections in the wake of the consent decree settlement that followed a 2021 federal lawsuit against the city. Project organizers would also like to hear from Central Mass people and organizations about their research interests when it comes to understanding political, economic, and social inequities in their communities.

Community members who are interested in being involved with The Precinct Project or who have ideas for community-based research with the project, are urged to contact Dr. Tom Conroy (WSU Department of Urban Studies) at tconroy@worcester.edu.

You can find The Precinct Project online at https://sites.google.com/view/theprecinctproject/home

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