Senior-to-Senior: School Ambassador Workshop Faqs

Information and resources for helping recruit schools, educators, and students to implement voter registration drives at high schools during graduation season and beyond.

Resources & FAQ

• Can you share The Civics Center’s resources?
  • Class of 2022 Challenge page and The Civics Center Digital Toolkit (this will be shared with the educators you identify through phone outreach)
  • Link to The Civics Center programs for students and sign-up for the trainings that are 2/week through June 2 – please share this link and opportunity directly with high school students in your life, freshman up to senior!
• Some basic statistics about high school voter registration:
  About 4 million young people turn 18 every year in the US, but in many school districts fewer than 20% get registered to vote in time for an election the year they are eligible. Yet, for those that do register, they turn out to vote in very high numbers (like 86%!). Information about youth voting and trends can be found at Tufts University’s CIRCLE program. A bit more 70% of older Americans are registered to vote, and about 76% of 65 – 74 year olds  turned out to vote in the 2020 election.

• Timing of all this? Graduation is near…what about later?
  Many high school graduations continue through mid-June, so there is still time now to recruit schools, educators, and students. And TCC’s student and educator workshops run through June 2. All the work you do now to recruit and engage people will also continue to bear fruit in the Fall. And both Third Act and The Civics Center will have ongoing programming.
• I already know schools – can I reach out to them?
  YES. If you would prefer to conduct phone outreach to schools with which you have an existing relationship, please let Miranda at The Civics Center know.
• I don’t know any schools or graduating seniors, how can I help?
  You can still help The Civics Center encourage high school seniors to register to vote before graduation by contacting 25 schools to let them know about the Class of 2022 Challenge. Just complete the Google form indicating your interest and The Civics Center will follow-up with you..

• I know some high school students who are freshman, sophomores, or juniors – may I contact them? Can they join The Civics Center’s training workshops?
  YES! Students at these levels will be great as they can continue the work to implement voter registration drives in the Fall and beyond.
• Are there other outreach ideas to reach students and educators?
  People on the call suggested sharing The Civics Center and Third Act links on Next Door. Other people suggested contacting state associations of principals or school superintendents. Get creative!
• Are there other opportunities if you don’t want to make phone calls?
  If you are not interested in either of these opportunities, we also offer postcarding and will have other volunteer opportunities from time to time. You can sign up for The Civics Center newsletter on our website and that will ensure you get notified of all of those opportunities.

• What about high school clubs?
  We love Future Voters Clubs! See our Club Guide at https://thecivicscenter.org/resources
• When is National Voter Registration Day and High School Voter Registration Week?
  National Voter Registration Day is September 20, and the week is September 19-23.
• What about systemic change? School Board policies? State policies? Get into curricula?
  Yes, there are advocacy efforts at the school district and state level. Here are some resources:

• • The Center for Popular Democracy has this guide
  • There are sample school board policies on The Civics Center’s Resources page.