Sixteen is old enough to get on the roll.

Hi [Ms. Ramirez] — do you have two minutes?

September 14 through 25 is High School Voter Education Weeks. It's set in state law, and the State Superintendent and the Secretary of State sent our principal a letter in July inviting every school in California to take part. The letter specifically says schools can host voter registration or preregistration drives.

I'd like to run one here, and I'm hoping you'd sponsor it.

What it looks like: a table at lunch for a few days that week, where students who are 16 or 17 can preregister to vote. Preregistration just means their registration turns on automatically when they turn 18. It's completely nonpartisan — students pick any party or no party, and we never ask.

I'd do the work. I mostly need an adult attached to it and permission to be there.

Could I get your name on it?

Subject: Student request — Voter Education Weeks, Sept 14–25

Dear [Principal Vasquez],

My name is [Name] and I'm a [junior] at [Union Mine High School].

On July 14, 2026, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Secretary of State Shirley Weber sent a joint letter to district superintendents, charter administrators, and high school principals announcing High School Voter Education Weeks, September 14–25, 2026. The letter states that schools may support civic engagement by hosting voter registration or preregistration drives.

I'd like to organize one at our school and I'm writing to ask your permission.

The proposal:
• A table during lunch on [Sept 15, 17, and 22]
• Students who are 16 or 17 can preregister to vote; students who are 18 can register
• Materials come from the Secretary of State's office and El Dorado County Elections
• Strictly nonpartisan — no candidates, no parties, no measures discussed at the table
• [Teacher name] has agreed to sponsor it

I'm happy to meet, to bring a written plan, or to work within whatever process the school prefers.

Thank you for considering it.

[Name]
[Phone / school email]

Thirty seconds at the table. Say it in your own voice — this is just the shape of it.

"Hey — are you 16 yet?"

"Cool. You can preregister to vote right now. It's not signing up for anything, it just means the day you turn 18 you're already registered and you don't have to think about it."

"Takes like two minutes on your phone. You need your driver's license or state ID number, or the last four of your Social."

"Any party you want, or none — I'm not asking and it's not my business."

[hand them the QR code]

"That's it. You're done."

If they say they don't care about politics:
"Fair. This isn't about that — it's about not getting locked out later when you do care about something."

If they say they'll do it later:
"Do it now while you're standing here, it's genuinely two minutes."

MORNING ANNOUNCEMENT — 20 seconds
(Read Monday through Friday, Sept 14–25)

"This week is High School Voter Education Weeks across California. If you are sixteen or older, you can preregister to vote — which means your registration turns on automatically the day you turn eighteen. Stop by the table [outside the cafeteria] at lunch. It takes two minutes and it's open to everyone, no matter what you believe. Bring your ID."

POSTER TEXT — for an 11x17

16 OR 17?
Get on the voter roll now.
It switches on the day you turn 18.

Lunch, [Sept 15 · 17 · 22] · [Outside the caf]
2 minutes. Bring your ID. Any party or none.
[QR CODE → registertovote.ca.gov]

yo — are you 16 yet? you can preregister to vote, it takes like 2 min and it just means you're auto-registered the day you turn 18

registertovote.ca.gov

not a party thing, you pick whatever you want or nothing. I'm doing a table at lunch [tues + thurs] if you want to do it there

---

Recruiting a friend to help run it:

I'm running the voter preregistration table at lunch [next week] and I need two people. It's literally standing at a table with a QR code and asking people if they're 16. Free excuse to skip the line. you in?

INSTAGRAM / STORY

Sept 14–25 is High School Voter Education Weeks in California.

If you're 16 or 17 you can preregister to vote right now. Your registration activates automatically on your 18th birthday. You need your CA ID or the last 4 of your SSN. Two minutes.

registertovote.ca.gov

Any party or no party — that part is nobody's business but yours.

Table at lunch [Sept 15, 17, 22] outside [the cafeteria]. Come find me.

#HSVEW #ElDoradoCounty

---

SHORT VERSION FOR A STORY STICKER

16 or 17?
Preregister. 2 minutes.
Auto-activates at 18.
registertovote.ca.gov

Subject: Ask your teenager about this before Sept 14

Hi [Name],

Something time-sensitive, and it takes one conversation.

September 14 through 25 is High School Voter Education Weeks in California. In July, the State Superintendent and the Secretary of State jointly invited every high school in the state to take part, and the letter explicitly says schools can host voter registration and preregistration drives. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can preregister, and their registration turns on automatically the day they turn 18.

The invitation is real, the window is set, and the state materials already exist. What's missing is a student at each school willing to lead it.

If you have a high schooler in your life — kid, grandkid, niece, nephew — would you tell them what's happening, and tell them they could be the one who does it at their school? All they have to do is ask a Government, U.S. History, or ASB teacher to sponsor it. We'll handle the rest: materials, county elections contacts, and national groups that do this work for free.

One thing I'd ask you to say plainly: this is nonpartisan. Students register with any party or none, and that choice is theirs alone. That's what makes it welcome in a classroom, and it's what makes it right.

If you've got a student who's willing, reply to me or write reachout@indivisibleeldorado.org and I'll get them connected.

[Your name]