Only 65.6% of eligible CCA students voted in the 2020 Presidential Election. Among undergraduates, only 40% of eligible students (aged 18–21 years) turned out to vote. Let's work together to increase our community's democratic participation. Here's how you can take action.

CCA’s Voting Coalition is made up of staff, faculty, and students committed to increasing voter participation and democratic engagement on CCA’s campus. The Coalition meets monthly to coordinate efforts. Between meetings, work group members take lead roles to execute specific strategies. If you are interested in joining the team, please email exhibitions@cca.edu.

Core Members:

• Jaime Austin (Committee Chair), Director of Exhibitions and Public Programming / Academic Affairs
• Bryndis Hafthorsdottir, Gallery Manager / Academic Affairs
• Omer Minhas, Director, Institutional Research / Academic Affairs
• Noki Seekao, Director of Student Life / Student Affairs
• Stephaine Villanova, Assistant Director for Student Engagement, Activities, and Leadership / Student Affairs

Faculty and staff play a vital role in promoting civic engagement among students, and helping them understand the issues that affect them. Below are suggestions for integrating voting into courses and helping to get out the vote.

• Read Community Voting Organizer AnnMarie Giglio's open letter to students on why their votes matter
• List key election dates on your course syllabus and give students 5–10 minutes in class to visit CCA’s Voting Resources page and make a voting plan or learn about the U.S. Election
• Share key election dates by adding them to a slide at the start of your presentation deck
• Integrate the CCA@CCA Teaching Module What is your voting story? into your course plan
• Make arrangements so that no major assignments are due on Election Day or the day after
• Assign your class a CCA@CCA event to attend where they can learn about ballot issues
• Encourage students to help get out the vote using CCA’s custom Instagram GIFs or imagery from CCA's fall 2022 voting sticker design contest
• Add a line to your email signature encouraging others to vote, e.g. “Are you ready for the Presidential Primary Election? Make a voting plan.” Link to CCA’s Voting Resources page
• Join CCA’s Voting Coalition to help to increase democratic engagement and civic education at CCA. Contact us at exhibitions@cca.edu

Note: About 40% of CCA’s total student body is international or undocumented, and therefore ineligible to vote. When discussing elections, it is important to acknowledge this population and emphasize that U.S. election issues and results can have personal, bureaucratic, and global ramifications that affect them, too. All students can organize and mobilize their peers. View 5 Steps to Understanding U.S. Elections as an International Student.

Additional resources for faculty and facilitators:

How Faculty Can Continue to Keep Students Democratically Engaged (APSA)

Facilitating Difficult Election Conversations (James Madison University)

Teaching in Times of Strife & Trauma: Curated Resources with Actionable Ideas (Harvard Graduate School of Education)

The Institute for Democracy & Higher Education’s library of research and resources (Tufts University) Note: Be sure to check out their “Making Sense of…” series, which offers overviews of hot topics, such as Federal Elections and the Supreme Court, plus reading recommendations and discussion questions for faculty to use in their classrooms.

Help make sure we have a safe, fair, efficient election for all voters by serving as a poll worker for the General Election. Prior to their service, Bay Area poll workers receive training and materials to make sure they are prepared to help voters on Election Day. U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents over the age of 18 who are registered to vote in California and who are able to complete the required training are eligible to apply to become poll workers.

San Francisco County

Poll workers arrive at their assigned polling place by 6am on Election Morning and end their day around 10pm. Upon completion of their Election Day assignment, San Francisco poll workers receive a stipend of $180–$240. Apply now!

Alameda County

Alameda County polling locations are open for 4 days, from Saturday November 5th through Tuesday November 8th. Election workers can earn up to $500; workers who serve all 4 days receive a $20 bonus. Apply now!

For more information on serving as a poll worker, or to apply to be an election worker in a California County not listed above, please visit the California Secretary of State website.