League of Women Voters Works for Voting Rights, Education
By KC Nash, Communications Chair, League of Women Voters Solano County
As this election year gears up, the League of Women Voters Solano County (LVWSC) has been working in several ways to educate voters and assist with voter registration throughout the county.
Voter Registration at local high schools and other educational sites will be ongoing until the November election. LWVSC volunteers have already met with over 200 students at Benicia High School on January 23 and February 29, with 275 students at Vallejo Senior High on February 5, and with students at Liberty High School in Benicia on March 6. Other volunteers covered registration at Jesse Bethel High School and the Vallejo Adult School in Vallejo as well as Vanden High School in Dixon during February. Future drives are being scheduled at schools in Fairfield and Vacaville.
LVWSC’s education project Democracy Matters (DM) is also being actively presented in venues throughout the county. The program consists of educational activities where students and adults get hands-on training in participatory local government. The League’s Observer Corp training, for example, is designed to encourage citizen participation in local government by providing a structured how-to attend, observe, and participate in local government and board meetings. It includes information on the citizen’s right-to-know laws (Sunshine Laws) as well as instruction on how to participate and engage elected officials with civility. After the training, participants get to participate in a mock government or board meeting along with collaborating elected officials.
In February, coordinator Alice Fried and Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez conducted an Observer Corp Training and Mock City Council meeting at Suisun City Hall for participants in the Parent Learning Training Institute of Solano County. An Observer Corps Training was also conducted at the Travis Education Center in Fairfield. In March, trainings and mock city council meetings are scheduled at Mare Island Technical School and ARC Solano in Vallejo.
In an extension of the DM program, the LWV Mendicino reached out to LWVSC to do a Civics Seminar on April 20 showcasing its three trainings—Voter Training, How to Organize and Conduct a Forum, and Observer Corp Training which will include a Mock Board of Supervisors meeting. This is the first effort to expand the program beyond Solano County using the support of other Leagues.
DM is also actively pursuing more events with the Solano Youth Coalition, including a possible repeat of last year’s Education Forum.
LWVSC Is actively recruiting new members and volunteers to support these activities. To find out more about the organization and various opportunities, go to https://my.lwv.org/california/solano-county.
