As barriers to voting continue to mount nationwide, the Oakland League has emerged as a leader in expanding voting rights.
For example, in 2020, 68% of Oakland voters passed a measure that extended voting to 16-17-year-old citizens to participate in elections that arguably affect them most: school board elections.
To jump-start new voter participation, the LVWO expanded its YOUth DECIDE program, mobilizing young volunteers and working in concert with organizations including Oakland Youth Vote and Oakland Kids First to bring the League’s message to students at public, independent, and parochial high schools in Oakland—and beyond.
Although overwhelmingly approved in 2020, as was a similar 2016 measure in Berkeley, Alameda County's delay in implementing the mandate meant Oakland teens had to wait until the 2024 election to cast their first ballots. With the support of YOUth DECIDE volunteers, they came to the polls with the knowledge and confidence to make informed choices.
YOUth DECIDE Transforms High School Students Into Informed Voters
While many 16-17-year-olds are already pre-registered through the DMV, through no fault of their own, some aren’t informed or motivated to cast a ballot. As YOUth DECIDE co-chair, Peggy Lipper, explains:
Voter registration is necessary but insufficient for democracy. YOUth DECIDE guides students through the thought-chain of:
- Identifying and articulating what matters to them
- Recognizing that voting—and not voting—impacts those issues
- How elected officials and governments, at every level, can affect those policies
- How their vote counts in determining how a person or proposition can drive the changes they want
YOUth DECIDE has found that when the basics and mechanics of voting are demystified, and students begin to feel the power of participation, they rapidly move from being vaguely interested in issues to becoming activists.
YOUth DECIDE Goes to School
Since 2020, YOUth DECIDE has presented to thousands of students and registered hundreds of new voters at schools including Berkeley City College, Bishop O’Dowd, Castlemont, Coliseum College Prep, College Prep School, Cypress Mandela, Fremont, Laney College, Oakland High, Oakland School for the Arts, Oakland Tech, Skyline, and Street Academy. From site visits and in-class sessions to one-on-one walkthroughs of voting resources and more advanced curriculum, the level of outreach depends on the scale and scope of a given school’s interests, needs, and resources.
Examples of outreach include:
- Classroom discussions of voting, voting rights, the ranked-choice system, and youth voting.
- Assemblies where students lead a discussion, teach a topic, and engage in an immersive “write your own law” project.
- Discussion relevant to a particular teacher’s lesson plan, e.g., the implications of a parcel tax versus a sales tax, or the recall of elected officials.
- Encouraging students to look up their City Council or School Board representative online and write them an email.
- Working one-on-one with students to navigate the Alameda County online district look-up tool and the local government tab in the LWVO website to locate their School Board representative and brainstorm ways to determine whose interests they reflect.
Vote Early, Vote Often—the Right Way!
Research shows that those who begin to vote at a younger age vote more consistently in future elections. As one educator at Oakland High School put it, “It’s exciting to see young people registering now and getting that habit of not just registering but hopefully voting. They will be lifelong voters.”
There's no shortage of free LWVO and YD resources to support youth voters, including how to stay up to date on news about their elected officials and their positions on issues, and how to inform others about the impact of policies and voting.
Impact Beyond the Voting Booth
From personal growth to global impact, the benefits of engaging young adults in the voting process compound. And past alums report that direct experience with the YOUth DECIDE program has been rewarding. For many, involvement in the program has served as a springboard to greater awareness of their rights, increased engagement, and real-world success:
- Sophiella, Oakland Tech class of 2025, now a student at Cal Poly: “I used my experience at LWVO as my college essay. I was able to join the chorus of democracy because of LWVO, and I had a place - I can do important stuff young.”
- Mira, College Prep class of 2025, now a student at the University of Pennsylvania, shared, “I think that often people feel that they do not know much about the voting process or believe that their vote doesn't matter, and I joined the League to help change that. “
- Zara, Skyline class of 2024, now a student at UCLA, and Springfield, Fremont High class of 2017, now an active LWVO member, represented LWVO at the 2025 California state LWV convention.
- YOUth DECIDE members Inara, Skyline class of 2027, and Omar, Bishop O’Dowd class of 2025, acted as student timers for Oakland’s Mayoral debates during the 2025 Special Election.
As Patricia Arabia, co-chair of the program, shares, “YOUth DECIDE is a symbiosis; it empowers both sides. There’s an intergenerational transfer of knowledge and energy. My generation grew up at a time when it was safer to engage - where can youth safely engage today? In Oakland, over 60% voted in favor of allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, and that told them: "You have older allies.”
A new generation of diverse, passionate politicians is championing policies that resonate with young people's values. Students bombarded by misinformation, ever-more convincing deepfake technology, and AI-powered social media campaigns designed to exploit their relative inexperience are looking of reliable, unbiased sources of information. The good news? YOUth DECIDE is charging forward to provide it.
To learn more, visit the YOUth DECIDE homepage. Interested in joining us, as a student or an adult volunteer? Contact youth-decide@lwvoakland.org to get started today!