By Julie Bernas-Pierce, Member: YOUth DECIDE Committee
The Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced on August 8 that Oakland and Berkeley citizens 16 and 17 years of age will be allowed to register to vote in their local school board elections on November 5. Any 16 or 17 year old residing in Oakland or Berkeley who previously pre-registered to vote will be automatically pre-registered to vote as a youth voter.
This is an historic first for California, brought about through the extraordinary efforts of a coalition of Oakland and Berkeley community and youth groups, including the Oakland League. The League is committed to advancing voting rights to all eligible groups, including in this case to young people. Our support for the youth vote is based on the belief that registering and voting in school board elections will set lifelong patterns that will increase overall voter participation.
Measures Y1 (Berkeley) and QQ (Oakland) passed in 2016 and 2020 respectively. “The technology and processes are now in place to deliver youth voting” said Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Tim Dupuis.
Families, teachers and students should alert voter-eligible students about this opportunity to vote in school board elections! Students should register to vote so they can make their voices heard to effect change in the policies and practices that directly impact their lives at school.
Read more at the Official Website of the City of Oakland. This Oaklandside article is a good overview of how the Youth Vote came to be. Check out the story of the hard work by Oakland youth that got us this far.
Starting now, you can learn about the candidates running for School Board at LWVO's website and mid-September at VOTE411.
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