Recognizing Educators on MLK Day
To honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the MLK Day of Service, The Civics Center encouraged others to embrace the day as an opportunity to express gratitude. We asked students from across the country to recognize the educators who taught them the importance of making their voices heard and participating in their communities.
The heroes of our democracy deserve more
You were the heroes of our democracy in 2020, and you deserve more than what this year has given you. You deserve a reliable and transparent democracy that welcomes you.
The Civics Center congratulates Laura Brill on receiving the Judith Soley Lawyer as Citizen Award
The Civics Center Director Laura W. Brill was honored with the 2020 Judith Soley Lawyer as Citizen Award from the California Women Lawyers (CWL). The Judith Soley Lawyer as Citizen Award is given to one attorney each year who has “made a significant contribution to their community...beyond the practice of law” and “devotes time and effort to the public good and values through the tradition of public service and involvement.”
Happy Mother’s Day! 2020 Edition: Calling all moms.
A lot of lofty generalizations float around on Mother’s Day. One generalization that is often ignored is that moms perform a lot of unpaid labor at home and at work and solve problems that result from a lack of public planning. I know a lot of moms now who, when they are not worried about health and the economy, are worried about our democracy.
Meet The Civics Center’s inaugural class of Youth Fellows!
The Civics Center is excited to announce its inaugural class of Youth Fellows! This cohort of eleven high school students will be taking on projects aimed at improving youth civic engagement and voter participation through 2020.
Introducing the 1,000 Schools Challenge and Ready to Vote Coalition
I’m thrilled to introduce The Civics Center’s 1,000 Schools Challenge, undertaken with the newly formed Ready to Vote Coalition. The goal of the Challenge is to support youth-led voter registration efforts in 1,000 schools around the country. The Ready to Vote Coalition includes national, state and local groups, listed below, who recognize and value the goal of improving civic engagement in high school.
Our beautiful yellow map
There are many different kinds of maps. Some show the present, like where the roads and rivers are. Some show past events, like the red / blue maps of an election night, proclaiming the count of votes already cast. There are other maps that show the future. They tell us about opportunity instead of objects or outcomes.
Pop Quiz: High School Voter Registration 101
It’s officially finals season. That means it’s time to take our first ever pop quiz to find out if you’ll be ready to help young people vote in 2020. If you don’t know the answers, don’t be surprised. One thing we’ve learned this year at The Civics Center is that the opportunities for high school voter registration are among the best kept secrets in the country.
4,000 Youth Registrations during High School Voter Registration Week
The first-ever nationwide High School Voter Registration Week was a big success! The week of action improved low youth voter registration rates by encouraging and supporting students to register and pre-register eligible 16, 17, and 18 year-olds to vote.
Introducing High School Voter Registration Week
Too often in the past, people have dismissed concerns about low levels of youth involvement as being based on the stereotype that young people are apathetic and self-centered. That’s not what we see at The Civics Center.
New Study Reveals 14% of Utah 16- and 17-year-olds Are Pre-registered to Vote
The 2018 primary elections made Utah history as they were the first to allow pre-registered 17-year-olds to cast a ballot in the state. Despite the promise of this new law, more than two-thirds of the counties in Utah had fewer than 20% of 16- and 17-year-olds pre-registered.
What’s going on with voter pre-registration in West Virginia?
The average pre-registration rate in West Virginia is just 14%. While on par with California, statewide pre-registration averages in West Virginia are dwarfed by states like Colorado and Oregon that see numbers doubling W.V.’s rate.
New Oregon Study Finds 29% of 16- and 17-year-olds are Pre-registered to Vote Statewide
In 2018, pre-registration rates across Oregon counties were relatively uniform--the majority of counties measuring between 22% to 35% of 16- and 17-year-olds pre-registered--in comparison to states like West Virginia and Colorado that contain large amounts of variation.
Takeaways from Maricopa County: Sometimes you just have to ask
Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, has a population of over 4 million people, and approximately 119,000 of those residents are 16 and 17 years old. If they don’t already know it, we have some good news for them.
California Teen Voter Pre-registration Lags
According to a new analysis released today by The Civics Center, as of February 2019, only 14% of 16- and 17-year olds in the state are pre-registered to vote. . . . The numbers show a modest increase over pre-registration numbers released in October 2018. Then, only 13% of California 16- and 17-year olds were pre-registered.
California Teen Pre-registration Represents Just 13% of 16- and 17-year-olds
California experienced a surge in teen voter pre-registration in the month before the November 2018 election, but only 13% of 16- and 17-year-olds have taken advantage of this opportunity to register to vote before their 18th birthday, according to an analysis by The Civics Center released today. Please read our press release for more information.
New Year's Resolutions: A comparison
2019 is on its way. Are you wondering how your life can change in the coming year? Wondering whether to commit to weight loss or to promoting youth civic engagement? It’s a hard choice. How will you feel as you are putting each resolution into practice? Let’s compare.
Teaching with stories
“I don’t like politics, and I’m not going to vote.” It was October of this year. I was spending countless hours focused on youth voter registration and turnout. So a lot of things went through my mind when I heard a report about a young high school teacher who, in the weeks before Election Day, told her students, that she didn’t like politics, and she wasn’t going to vote.
The Civics Center on KCAL9.
Check out The Civics Center’s recent feature on local Los Angeles CBS news station, KCAL 9.
Our Twitter is live
We want to connect with you! Our Twitter, @TheCivicsCenter, is a great place to go for daily updates and information about youth civics.