Youth Outreach: Voter Registry, Civics, News Literacy

The LWV of Alameda views our youth as critical to the future health of our democracy. With this in mind, we are exploring a number of ways to increase youth awareness of issues affecting their lives. On a practical level, we encourage and assist voting-age youth to exercise the right to vote. Youth outreach is perhaps our most important mission.

News Literacy & Civics
Test your knowledge! Challenge your friends! Have fun! Play VerifyIt!  – the online news literacy, voting and civics education game that helps you become a more well-informed citizen.
 
This fun, free, interactive game helps students and first-time voters identify misinformation and better understand their government and their voting rights. While directed to students, young and first-time voters, the game can really be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn more about our democracy.

VerifyIt! teaches you to challenge assumptions about the things you read, see and hear. 

Youth Voter
Registry
The League of Women Voters of Alameda, with the assistance of the Registrar of Voters (ROV) visit civic classes in participating Alameda high schools once a year to demonstrate online voter registration through the California Secretary of State website.

The ROV helps students understand the responsibilities of keeping one's registration current.

The LWV of Alameda demonstrates the use of the State website; and we show them how the Voter's Edge website provides unbiased, in-depth voting information on candidates and ballot measures.  

Intern with The League
We developed this pilot program to encourage and develop young leaders to lend their voices in support of our mission. Working with our League members, interns will have the opportunity to learn about the League, work on special projects, define shared goals and discover what we do to defend democracy and empower voters in our community.
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Our pilot project will run for 3 months during the summer starting in June 2022.

Youth Civics Program
In partnership with the College of Alameda (CoA), the League of Women Voters of Alameda has created the Democracy Matters: High School Civics Scholarship Program to help students become informed, critical thinkers and participants in Making Democracy Work.

This lively educational program, begun in 2015, encourages students to develop their communication skills in competition with their peers by analyzing and taking positions on key public policy issues. This program was begun to increase youth engagement in the League, expose teens to our education and advocacy missions, and enrich local schools' civics education.

Debate topics are selected from positions taken by the League of Women Voters. The winner receives a $1,000 scholarship, and the runner up a $500 scholarship. All participants earn League recognition and a credit in Communications from the CoA. 

​This program is temporarily suspended due to restrictions on in-class visits.