Welcome, Future Voters, to our Kids Page!
Here at the Registrar of Voters, we take pride in our campaign to reach out and educate our future voters about elections. We have an active Outreach Team who may be in your neighborhood, so keep a look out for Essie the Bee!
From our teachers to our parents, to our extended family and friends, we all have a responsibility to our youth to be active participants in democracy. Why? Studies show that educating kids at an early age about government and democracy and having adult role models who vote has a great impact on whether they will become voting adults themselves. Studies also show that involving young people in activities and discussions about civics and elections can increase the likelihood that other voting aged adults in the same household will also vote.
Did you know...in California, youth who are 16 and 17 years old are eligible to pre-register to vote? Those who do will have their voter registration automatically activated when they turn 18, and they will begin to receive voting materials!
Visit the California Secretary of State's website for more information and access to their pre-registration tool kit.
We hope to share useful resources to help kick start your campaign to teach kids in our communities about the importance of participating in democracy. Select the appropriate link below to see ideas for fun websites and activities, books, and videos.
We've even found some interesting videos that are not necessarily just for kids! Sometimes, we all need a little nudge.
County Partners
The Registrar of Voters partners with the offices below as part of our initiative to increase youth participation.
Santa Clara County Office on Women’s Policy: Increasing the leadership capacity and civic participation among girls and women. Their program, “Girls Advisory Team,” allows girls to receive valuable leadership training from the Office of Women’s Policy to expand their civic engagement and influence local policy. Visit their site for more details on how to apply.
Santa Clara County Office of Education, Civic Engagement Program: This program is a part of the Office of Education’s commitment to civic engagement and enables partnerships with key stakeholders to help students increase civic literacy and develop civic engagement. This program incorporates recommendations from the California Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning. Visit the Santa Clara County Office of Educations Civic Engagement program to learn more.
