O.C. High School Students are Pre-Registering to Vote in Civic Education Drive

Students in Sara Botts’s government class at La Vista High School recently experienced a hands-on lesson in democracy. Representatives from the Orange County Registrar of Voters' (ROV) office visited the Fullerton Joint Union High School District campus to educate students about the voting process. During presentations to multiple classes, they explained how elections are conducted in Orange County and shared how teens can join the county’s 1.8 million voters.

“It’s super easy,” said Marley Green, a member of the ROV Community Engagement Team, as she demonstrated the step-by-step process of filling out a voter registration form. Some students left school that day pre-registered or registered to vote.

“Voting is the crux of democracy,” Botts said in an interview after one of the presentations. She said it was important to incorporate real-world lessons into her curriculum, especially for her students, many of whom come from historically marginalized communities.

Botts, who teaches at La Vista, a continuation high school, is among several local educators partnering with the ROV during High School Voter Education Weeks. Held twice annually, including in late September, the program offers students an opportunity to learn about civic participation. As part of the recent program, ROV office staff also visited Pacifica High School, Huntington Beach High School, and Bolsa Grande High School.

One key lesson for students is that they can participate in democracy even before they turn 18. In California, 16-and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote, becoming automatically registered when they turn 18.

“There are about 11,000 16- and 17-year-olds who have pre-registered to vote [in Orange County],” Registrar Bob Page wrote in an Oct. 3 email to Spotlight Schools. He added that approximately 1,500 of them will receive ballots this week because they will be 18 by Nov. 5, 2024.

Students can also join the ROV’s High School Volunteer Program for another hands-on lesson in democracy. These volunteers will work at one of Orange County’s numerous Vote Centers on Election Day, greeting voters, managing lines, and assisting with ballot scanning. Volunteers earn a $120 stipend. As of Oct. 3, about 330 students had applied for the program, according to Page.

In 2008, Botts was herself a election volunteer while attending Villa Park High School. Now, two of her students are following in her footsteps, including 17-year-old Sharon Castro. “I want to help people vote,” Sharon said. “I want to have that experience so when I turn 18, I’ll know what to do.”

Santa Ana Unified Teams Up with Youth-Led Group for Voter Education

The Orange County Registrar of Voters' office isn’t the only entity reaching out to young people this election season. Santa Ana Youth Vote, or S.A.Y. Vote, a youth-led grassroots organization, is working to boost voter engagement among high school students. Supported by a $20,000 grant from The Strauss Foundation, S.A.Y. Vote’s team of high school and college students aims to improve youth voter turnout, particularly in Santa Ana, where the group said half of 18- to 24-year-olds are not registered to vote.

Diego Sarmiento, a 22-year-old UCLA student and graduate of Godinez Fundamental High School in Santa Ana, is one of the leaders of S.A.Y. Vote. Sarmiento’s passion for civic participation ignited two years ago when he and others were disheartened by the low turnout among young voters during the 2022 campaigns. “There are 38,000 eligible youth voters in Santa Ana, and only 3,000 voted,” he recalled. “Everyone's voice should be heard equally in a democracy. And right now, young people’s voices aren’t being heard,” he said.

Sarmiento believes this low turnout perpetuates a narrative that young voters are unreliable, leading candidates to overlook them. “If we make young people high-propensity voters, campaigns will start paying attention to us,” he said.

Sarmiento, whose father is Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, stressed that S.A.Y. Vote is nonpartisan. “We really just want people to register to vote and get out to vote. That is our core message. No matter who you vote for, it’s just important for [young people] to get our voices heard.”

S.A.Y. Vote focuses on peer-to-peer education, arguing that young people are more likely to engage when the message comes from someone they can relate to. “Hearing it from another young person, from a classmate or someone who just graduated, is so important,” Sarmiento said. 

S.A.Y. Vote is focused on going into spaces where young people congregate including high schools, community colleges, and at community events. The group recently helped organize a forum with school board and city council candidates. And it was students that were asking a lot of the questions, as reported by Voice of OC. 

S.A.Y. Vote also created a fellowship program for high schoolers in Santa Ana this year. More than 100 students applied for the positions, Sarmiento shared. “That was really cool to see young people who wanted to get involved,” he said.

S.A.Y. Vote has partnered with the Santa Ana Unified School District in its effort. 

At the Sept. 10 meeting of the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education, the board approved a resolution allowing S.A.Y. Vote to visit its campuses during High School Voter Education Weeks to make presentations and help students pre-register and register to vote.

“We need to recognize that young people are the future leaders of our city here in Santa Ana,” board member Hector Bustos said at the meeting. “Their involvement in our political processes really does start now. It starts in high school, and it could even start before then. And so by helping them understand how to get civically engaged, we're helping them craft and shape their future.”

Since mid-September, S.A.Y. Vote was able to pre-register and register more than 1,000 young people in Santa Ana. The group is also working to ensure that these newly registered voters cast ballots on Nov. 5, offering text reminders and engaging through social media.

“The first step is registering,” Sarmiento said. “But we also need to get them out to vote.”

🗳️ Not registered to vote yet? Click here. Remember, the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 5 2024 election is Oct. 21.