Quincy Votes! is committed to objective, impartial voter information
As an organization aimed at boosting civic engagement, Quincy Votes! works to raise awareness about elections, candidate records, and the voting process. Our goal is to strengthen our community and democracy by engaging as many voices in government policies and practices as possible.
Our nonpartisan group partners with community members in Quincy, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to engage with them on local issues and encourage them to participate in the electoral process.
Quincy Votes! will never endorse any candidates or parties. We aim to provide accurate, unbiased information for voters to make their own informed choices.
Quincy Votes! is a volunteer based group, made up of residents who are civically engaged. Many individuals volunteer with local issues-based groups, serve on their children’s schools’ parent-teacher organizations, and regularly watch – and speak at – city meetings. Some volunteer with local political campaigns, and some run for office themselves.
While we may voice our personal opinions about issues or candidates outside of our participation in Quincy Votes!, the work we do as Quincy Votes! will remain nonpartisan and fact-based.
–The Quincy Votes! Board of Directors
Liz Speakman, Kathy Geraghty, Mary Lally, Dave Shiga, Bill Spirito, and Karl Becker
Our story
Only 17% of eligible voters cast ballots for Quincy city councilors and school committee members in the 2021 election. Two residents, Liz Speakman and Maggie McKee, started chatting about how to boost that number and were delighted when about 50 people showed up to brainstorm with them.
Quincy Votes! was born out of that first meeting at Wollaston Congregational Church on December 4, 2021.
In 2023, Quincy Votes! became an official 501c3 nonprofit, with six board members and three unofficial student board members.
Board members
April 2025 - April 2026 (inaugural term): statements of interest
Liz Speakman (president): As the President of the Board of Quincy Votes!, I have been committed to the formation and implementation of the group since its inception. I believe that engaging all members of Quincy will lead to more representative and effective government leadership. Our current civic engagement is often reactionary when we hear about something happening and rally people to have a voice in the process. I envision a Quincy where people from across the community come together to lay out a positive vision for the community and work toward that collectively. I believe Quincy Votes! has the ability to be a convener and leader in forming and fighting for that vision. I am excited about the possibility of leading the charge and continuing to bring more people into the process with us.
Kathy Geraghty (vice president): New for 2025 - Statement coming soon!
Karl Becker (treasurer): New for 2025 - Statement coming soon!
David Shiga (vice treasurer): I am passionate about Quincy Votes! because I believe we can make Quincy a more transparent, equitable, and inclusive city by increasing engagement and participation in elections and decision making. I have been coordinating our efforts to become a nonprofit to help us obtain funding to expand our work. I am excited about the potential to use data to better target our efforts. As a board member, I would continue working to put our group on a solid foundation so we can make a positive impact on our city.
Mary Lally (clerk): I have been a member of Quincy Votes! and attending meetings regularly from the first meeting held in December 2021. I am a single Quincy homeowner (taxpayer) since 2007. I received a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University. I have worked in law firms since 1983 in a variety of practice areas as a legal administrative assistant (aka legal secretary) and currently working a full-time hybrid schedule at the law firm in Boston since 2021. I would like Quincy Votes! to inform and educate underrepresented voters in Quincy to substantially increase voter turn-out that reflects the diversity of Quincy.
Bill Spirito (director): I hope to already have contributed my grain of sand to the common goals of Quincy Votes!, having participated at the first meeting in Wollaston and almost all the meetings since then. I rallied donations for the winners of the youth logo contest, including one from Uncle Sam, and I unsuccessfully tried to revive the Kids Vote program. I wish to continue to work to strengthen year-round civic participation in Quincy in addition to increase turnout in local elections.
Amy Tan (student): Amy Tan is a graduating senior at North Quincy High School who will be attending Harvard University. She has worked with Quincy Votes! since July 2022 and has done door-knocking and tabling. She even asked questions at a forum! A Mandarin and Cantonese speaker, she hopes to encourage others in her community to vote. As a board member, she would continue her ongoing effort to give high schoolers representation in school committee meetings, in addition to supporting other school-specific initiatives. She also hopes to encourage higher turnout for school committee elections. (Don’t we all?)
Alex Schramm (student): I am a tenth grader attending North Quincy High School, and I hope to be a student board member. Since an early age, politics have been a fascination of mine and, to fuel this interest, I am involved with my school’s Debate Club, and serve as treasurer to the Political Engagement Club. As an extension of this passion, I aim to be active in my community, namely spreading voting awareness and information to my peers, some of which have already reached voting age, and many who are approaching that critical point. Thank you.
Ashna Guha (student): My name is Ashna Guha — currently a senior at North Quincy High School, heading to college at UMass Amherst. I’ve been president of the NQHS Political Engagement club for 3 years. I’ve led my club in a variety of fundraisers to support our field trips to debate conventions held by the Junior State of America (JSA), an organization that encourages high schoolers to engage in politics. As a JSA Conventions Agent, I’ve also been personally involved in planning 2022-23 conventions in New York and Washington, DC. I aim to expand Quincy Votes! by diversifying our online presence. During our February in-person meeting, I suggested a social media campaign to partner with individuals representing various minorities to create videos appealing to their respective populations in Quincy. We will inform voters of their influence and encourage a larger voter turnout to ensure that our elected officials truly represent Quincy.