16- and 17-year-olds can vote in Alameda County School Board races

OAKLAND — Candidates seeking to lead the Oakland Unified School District faced a barrage of tough questions one recent evening, a questioning by a group of enthusiastic new voters suddenly empowered by political power: 16- and 17-year-old high school students.

For the first time in California, teenagers in two Alameda County school districts, Berkeley and Oakland, are eligible to vote for the first time in school board races this November.

About 1,000 Auckland students had registered as of October 22. And to please their new and youngest constituents, several Auckland candidates gathered in front of a packed audience in East Auckland for a meal.

“What ideas do you have for improving school safety in your district?” 16-year-old Ojiugo Egeonu, a student at Auckland Technical College, asked the candidates. She added that there have already been “several school shootings” on high school campuses in the past year. Fremont High School, site of candidate forum on October 22, was closed in 2023 after two people were shot near campus.

School board candidates have tried to reassure students by saying they are committed to improving safety while protecting students’ rights. The new voters of the district listened carefully.

In a district facing a massive budget crisis and often dismal test results, students also had questions about school funding, campus safety, mental health, and college and career support.

Many students said it’s time for school board candidates to listen to them.

“We’re not at the kids’ table anymore,” said Maximus Simmons, a student at Oakland High School. “This is the first time that young people have had a real voice in school board elections in a big city. This is just the beginning.”

Several small towns across the country have given young people the opportunity to vote in local elections.

California was the first to allow youth suffrage in Berkeley, where in 2016 more than 70 percent of voters approved a measure allowing students to vote in school board races.

Voters in Oakland followed suit in 2020 with Measure QQ. But because it took several years to work out the mechanics, officials said, the youth vote will be held for the first time in both cities this month.

“This has never been done before in California, and we had to make sure it was done properly,” Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis said. statement.

The push is spreading to more cities. In the Bay Area, voters in Albany will vote Tuesday on whether to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote. In Southern California, the voters of Culver City a minor defeat a similar measure in 2022, while San Francisco voters also rejected such measures in 2016 and 2020.

Sixteen-year-olds and 17-year-olds must register to vote and are sent a ballot with only the school board candidates in their district, preventing them from voting in other races.

At a candidate forum at Fremont High, school board candidates turned their attention to their new constituency. Seven of the eight candidates running for Oakland’s four open seats were in attendance.

“I’m here to listen to all of you because that’s what you deserve,” Ben Salop, 20, a 2022 Oakland High Tech graduate, told the students. “Let’s make Oakland a truly student-led county.”

“It’s very important that 16- and 17-year-olds are able to vote in the Oakland and Berkeley school board elections because they now have an impact on who represents their interests,” said Laura Ray-Lake, a professor of social welfare at UCLA. which conducted a study of civic activity of young people. She stressed that these students see inequality in schools first-hand and are likely to vote for candidates who prioritize equality and support for students and who “listen to their views”.

Oakland and Berkeley can serve as examples for other cities by showing that young people can vote responsibly, she said. Because Oakland is the largest and most diverse city with a lower voting age, she says Oakland could inspire similar movements in other cities, such as Newark, New Jersey, and a youth movement in Minnesota seeking to lower the voting age to school councils

Oakland County, home to about 34,000 students, many of whom live in poverty, has struggled in recent years. It faced a $95 million budget shortfall, declining enrollment and shuttered campuses amid accusations it was failing to recruit students. He also struggled with low test scores, especially among blacks and Hispanics.

“We started this movement because we saw that our school board principals were making decisions without taking the student’s perspective into account,” said Natalie Gallegos Chavez, a UC Berkeley sophomore who was a student at Oakland High School when she first participated. Oakland Youth Coalition voting at its 2019 launch.

Gallegos said the movement to pass Measure QQ was inspired by closing school programs that she believes are against the best interests of students. In 2019, the Oakland school board cut $20.2 million from its budget, including 100 jobs and several schools.

Many students said that being able to vote in school board elections made them more involved in politics in general.

“It made me more interested when I found out that we might actually have the opportunity to have our voices heard,” said Ann Deeby, 16, a student at Skyline High School in Oakland. “It opened my eyes to how young people perceive government decisions.”

Classmate Debi Autumn Weems, 16, added that being able to vote has encouraged her to become more informed about issues affecting her school. “Now we actually have control over our education, which is what we should have done in the first place,” she said.

Tommy Lemasny, 17, a senior at Skyline, said the vote made him more aware of the need for youth voices to be heard in politics.

“I want students to have more of a voice, not just adults who think they know everything,” Lemasny said. “The voice of the youth must be heard, especially when it comes to who represents us.”

At an event at Fremont High, many candidates were quick to agree with students about the value of the youth vote.

Candidate Dwayne Aikens Jr. told the students that he grew up poor and was a victim of gun violence in Oakland. He said he ran to improve schools and to “bring hope and aspiration to the vote.”

Van Cedric Williams, who is running for re-election against Aikens, urged students to stay vocal and continue to push for student involvement in budget decisions.

“We need to hear your voice,” he said. In response, the students showered him with loud cheers and applause.

Tanaka is a special correspondent.