County partners with the League of Women Voters to engage students in voter registration drives 

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — The County of San Luis Obispo Clerk-Recorder’s Office has partnered with the League of Women Voters (LWVSLO) to launch a countywide competition to see which local high school can register — or pre-register — to vote the highest percentage of eligible students. The competition will run Sept. 16-30, which coincides with California’s official High School Voter Education Weeks. At the conclusion of the competition, one SLO County high school will be named Inaugural Voter Registration Champ. 

Participating schools will have these two weeks to encourage and facilitate voter registration among students who are already 18 years old or pre-registration among students who are 16 or 17. Students who pre-register automatically become registered voters on their 18th birthday. The California Secretary of State provides an online portal for both registration and pre-registration: RegisterToVote.ca.gov, though schools also have the option to use paper registration cards. 

Schools have been encouraged to get creative and make the competition their own, but they are also being offered a valuable resource: the opportunity for members of the LWVSLO to visit campus and help register students during the competition. The LWVSLO has extensive experience conducting campus visits and educating students about the importance of voting as well as how to register and how to vote.

“We’re really excited to partner with the league and for them to provide in-person support during the registration drive,” said SLO County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano. “Their on-campus program is very strong and they have so muchexperience helping students become future voters.”

The LWVSLO says that it has already scheduled visits at San Luis Obispo, Nipomo, Paso Robles, and Morro Bay high schools as well as the Grizzly Academy, and that plans for visits to Mission Prep, Pacific Beach, New Tech, and Templeton High Schools are in the works. Instead of — or in addition to — scheduling a visit from the LWVSLO, schools can designate student campus coordinator(s) to promote registration throughout the two-week period and assist in reporting completed registrations for tabulation. The Clerk-Recorder’s Office has developed a 30-minute training program and has already begun training students who are interested in taking on this leadership role. 

Any interested students are encouraged to contact the Clerk-Recorder’s Office directly at electionsoutreach@co.slo.ca.usto to arrange for an in-person or Zoom training. The goal of the friendly competition is to encourage civic engagement and register or pre-register every student 16 years of age or older in San Luis Obispo County.