One of the key roles PTAs play is to encourage our students to be responsible citizens in a democracy. By voting in elections, we all help decide laws that affect children, youth, and families’ health, welfare, and education. Therefore, the right to vote, the need to cast an informed vote, and have that vote count, whether for candidates or ballot measures, is fundamental to our work as PTAs and should be celebrated, promoted, and protected.
Resources
- Read the California State PTA Position Statement “Voting” Adopted by the Board of Managers August 2020
- Ed100 Lesson 6.15 Civics, history and geography: “How do kids learn about their country and the world?”
Voter Registration Drives
One of the most important actions PTAs can take is encouraging parents and students to vote. PTAs can hold Voter Registration drives year-round. Remind your community to update their voter registration after a name change or when they move.
The California Secretary of State will always have the most recent information and is a PTA-safe source that you can and should share information from and link to.
- Basic voter, registration info, and deadlines can be found on the California Secretary of State’s Website
- Basic election info, deadlines, mail-in ballot and in-person voting information
Additional Resources
- California SOS Voter Registration Guide (2022)
- Check, or update your registration status online at the California Secretary of State’s website at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov
- Rock the Vote
- Reliable voter education resources
- League of Women Voters of California Easy Voter Guide is posted before each statewide election at this URL: https://easyvoterguide.org. Available in 5 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese
- Ed100 blog post “Learning to Vote“ (Sept 2023)
- Ed100 blog post “Want Young People to Vote? Start Earlier“ (Sept 2020)
- Ed100 blog post “Flunking Democracy” (June 2018)
Civic Engagement for HS Students
Student Voting
- 16- and 17-year-old pre-registration poster
- High school, senior, voter registration drive.
- Here’s an idea for reminding high school students to vote after they turn 18 from a California PTA Council.
- Here’s a whole program where a California PTA District partnered with their county Registrar of Voters and County Superintendent of Education to encourage student civic engagement.
- “When You Turn 18, a Legal Survival Guide” by the California Bar Association in English (2021) and Spanish
Student Activities & Recognition
- California Secretary of State’s Student Mock elections
- Youth/Student poll workers
- California Department of Education State Seal of Civic Engagement—Students can earn this seal for their H.S. diplomas. Read our blog post!