by Shawn Gilbert, LWVDV Vice-President and School Voter Engagement Chair

April 19th - 30th were the Secretary of State’s High School Voter Education Weeks. These voter education weeks will take place again the last two weeks in September per the California Education Code.  These dates are provided as a way to ensure that our young people are offered opportunities to understand the importance of civic engagement in maintaining a democracy. The Secretary of State offers educators numerous resources online to promote participation and engagement at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/high-school-programs. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can pre-register online using https://registertovote.ca.gov/ . Once they turn eighteen, they automatically become registered.

To help educators who are still teaching remotely in many parts of the county, LWVDV reworked the one-page “Voter Resources” guide that was created during the general election so that it reflected information most useful to high school students. The “High School Voter Resources” guide was shared with Lynn Mackey, the County Superintendent of Schools (CSoS), who then pushed it out to all secondary schools together with the CSoS’s promotional information about the Secretary of State’s High School Voter Education Weeks.

Click here to access a PDF of the High School Voter Resource Guide.