Center for Tech and Civic Life

Center for Tech and Civic Life
Name	Center for Tech and Civic Life
Formation	2012
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Region served	United States
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	former and current leaders

Center for Tech and Civic Life

The Center for Tech and Civic Life is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 that focuses on election administration, voter engagement, and civic technology. It operates programs that support local election offices and community organizations across the United States, working in contexts that have involved national debates involving the 2020 United States presidential election, the 2016 United States presidential election, and local election administration challenges. Its activities intersect with institutions such as the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Postal Service, and state secretaries of state.

History

The organization was established in 2012 amid discussions following the 2010 United States Census and the 2012 United States presidential election, during a period when civic technology initiatives like those supported by the Knight Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation were expanding. Early work connected with municipal election boards in Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois and drew comparisons in some reporting to efforts by the Brennan Center for Justice and the Pew Charitable Trusts to modernize voter services. Throughout the 2016 United States presidential election and the 2018 midterm elections the group partnered with county clerks in Maricopa County, Harris County, and Wayne County and collaborated with civic organizations such as the League of Women Voters and Common Cause. Activities prior to 2020 involved training programs similar to those of the National Association of Secretaries of State and committees linked to the National Association of County Election Officials.

Mission and Activities

The organization's stated mission emphasizes support for election officials, civic engagement projects, and deployment of technology tools. Core programs include grantmaking to local election offices, training comparable to workshops run by the National Association of State Election Directors and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and technical assistance akin to services from Democracy Works and TurboVote. It has run voter registration drives in cooperation with UnidosUS, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Vote.org, and offered resources during election cycles that overlapped with events such as the 2020 United States presidential election, the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election, and the 2014 midterms. The group's work often interfaces with academic partners like Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Internet Observatory, and the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, and with philanthropic actors including the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Funding and Grants

Funding sources have included private foundations such as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as contributions from individuals associated with organizations like Microsoft and Google. In 2020 the organization administered large-scale grant programs that distributed funds to counties across the United States, alongside federal programs run by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and state-administered relief funds tied to the CARES Act. Grantee recipients included county election boards in Maricopa County, Milwaukee County, and Philadelphia County and nonprofit groups such as the Hispanic Federation and the National Urban League. Other philanthropic funders have paralleled support from groups like Open Society Foundations and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Controversies and Legal Issues

The organization's 2020 grant programs prompted litigation and political debate in venues such as the Supreme Court of the United States, state courts in Texas and Ohio, and hearings by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Critiques from figures associated with the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and state attorneys general cited concerns that mirrored disputes involving the Federal Election Commission and state campaign finance laws. Defenders referenced analyses from the Brennan Center for Justice, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Government Accountability Office. Cases and controversies intersected with reporting in outlets covering the 2020 United States presidential election and legal precedents involving election administration, federalism, and First Amendment claims.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The organization has been led by executive directors and overseen by a board of directors composed of civic technology leaders, nonprofit executives, and academics drawn from institutions like the University of Chicago, Yale University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Advisory networks have included professionals with backgrounds at the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission, and state election offices in California, Florida, and New York. Partnerships and staff collaborations have involved entities such as Civic Hall, Microsoft Philanthropies, and the Center for American Progress, and have engaged experts from institutions like Columbia University and Georgetown University.

Impact and Reception

Assessments of the organization's impact appear in analyses by think tanks and media organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post, ProPublica, Reuters, and Associated Press and in academic studies from Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania. Supporters cite improved polling-place operations in jurisdictions such as Cuyahoga County, Maricopa County, and Dane County and increased voter participation comparable to trends reported by the United States Elections Project and the Census Bureau. Critics draw comparisons to disputes involving outside election funding in cases like Burson v. Freeman and note tensions similar to debates involving the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee. The organization continues to be referenced in discussions involving the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity and broader reform debates involving the Help America Vote Act.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Chicago