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The California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP)
at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change
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Engage!
CCEP Newsletter
June 2017
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Dear CCEP colleagues, partners and friends:
Welcome to the June edition of Engage!
Summer is here and there are some proposed changes to California's elections that could be heading our way. At present, there are two bills calling for the California primary to be moved up from June to March, and the Secretary of State has sponsored a bill currently moving through the state legislature, asking voters to pass a bond measure to pay for new, modernized voting equipment.
In this edition, we also share some of the latest civic engagement research that was recently published, as well as an inspiring story of a Chico State University student who helped the university receive a voter-friendly campus designation.
In partnership,
Mindy Romero, Ph.D.
CCEP Director
Follow us on:
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June 14-15th
The Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative will hold its 8th Annual Statewide Energy Efficiency Forum on Wednesday, June 14th - June 15th in Fresno, California. The theme of this year's forum is "Bridging the Gap." It will focus on topics highlighting local energy, data and technology, sustainability projects, and will include updates from key state agencies.
Mindy Romero, director of the California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP) at UC Davis, will speak on the panel, The Path to 2030, at this event.
Click
here
for more information and to
register
.
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Photo Credit: Jonathan Ernst | Reuters |
Common Cause
Common Cause will be running its 7th annual "Student Activist Training" event this summer at California State University, Sacramento.
Through this event, Common Cause seeks to provide a foundation for students and young professionals to become better activists and advocates.
This free 3-day event is open for all undergraduate students to apply, and will run from July 28th to July 30th. Check out the link to their page
here
to register.
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The Gatherings Initiative: Connecting Communities for Action
The Gatherings Initiative: Connecting Communities for Action hosted an event, "What Happened to Our Country?" on June 11th at the Davis Senior Center.
This event featured a keynote address from journalist and author, Sasha Abramsky, who discussed our current political situation using research from his new book, "Jumping at Shadows: The Triumph of Fear and the End of the American Dream." Mindy Romero, director of the CCEP served as a panelist at this event.
For more information about this event, check out the Davis Vanguard article
here.
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Secretary of State Alex Padilla
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High School Voter Education Weeks
Each year the California Education Code designates the last two full weeks of April and September to be "High School Voter Education Weeks." T
his past April, California students heard from
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla
as he traveled around California schools hosting town hall style meetings.
At these meetings, Secretary Padilla notified students of the new state policy that passed in March, allowing teenagers age 16 and 17 to pre-register to vote, and encouraged eligible students to pre-register or register to vote. In addition, Secretary Padilla spoke to students about the critical role young people play in sustaining our democracy and why civic participation and education is important.
Learn more about High School Voter Education Weeks at the California Secretary of State's
website.
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Little Hoover Commission public hearing
The Little Hoover Commission held a public hearing on May 25th at the State Capitol in order to learn more about how recent legislative reforms could affect voter participation in California. Furthermore, the Commission used this hearing to explore additional ways the voter registration process could be changed to improve voter turnout. Mindy Romero, director of the CCEP, gave invited testimony at this hearing. Learn more from their website
here.
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New Civic Engagement Research
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California, released a report this May examining the language assistance available to California's limited-English proficiency (LEP) voters.
The report titled "Voices of Democracy: The State of Language Access in California's 2016 Elections" is based on the findings of a poll monitoring effort during the November 2016 election.
Advancing Justice - California organized almost 600 volunteers to visit nearly 1,300 polling places across California to determine if voting sites were in compliance with federal and state access laws. To find out the results of this study, read it
here.
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Every Student Succeeds Act
The Education Commission of the States released a new report providing an overview of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) - which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in December 2015. This report outlines how ESSA is intended to expand and support civic education and civic engagement activities in K-12 schools to foster a well-rounded education.
For more information, see report
here.
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Civic Engagement Success Story
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CSU Chico student helped designate school as voter-friendly
Chico State University student, Jessica Candela, helped the university receive a designation as a voter-friendly campus.
Candela, a senior at CSU Chico studying political science and multicultural and gender studies, led the university's Office of Civic Engagement's voter registration and education program. Through the program, Candela was able to reach over 5,000 community members, and helped more than 350 people register to vote.
As coordinator of voter registration and education, Candela hosted voter education forums, collaborated with campus organizations to put on 18 voter education workshops, and visited club meetings and classes to talk about the importance voting. Check out the story from ChicoER
here.
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California Civic Engagement News
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California seeks to move June primary to March
Two California bills, Senate Bill 568 and Assembly Bill 84, have been approved by their houses. These bills seek to move the California primary from June up to March.
Those in favor of this change, such as Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), author of the Senate bill, believe an earlier California primary would give Californian voters more influence in the election. Check out the Associated Press article for more on this
here.
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Photo Source: Jimmy Gomez | Facebook
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Election of Gomez highlights Latino voting behavior
California Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez recently won California's 34th Congressional District during a special election held in order to fill the seat vacated by Xavier Becerra who became state attorney general.
The results of the election highlighted Latino voting behavior and political power. When vote-by-mail (VBM) counts were released, Gomez and opposing candidate Robert Lee Ahn were in a tight race. However, once in-person votes were counted, Gomez received almost 70 percent of those votes. This was attributed to Latino voters preferring to cast their ballots in-person rather than VBM - a result that the author says is consistent with research findings released by the CCEP in their "The California Voter Experience: Vote-by-Mail vs. the Polls" policy brief.
For more on this topic, see the NBC News article
here.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images
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California asks voters to modernize CA voting systems
The Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2018, sponsored by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), was approved by the California State Assembly on June 1, 2016.
This bill calls for voters to approve a $450 million bond to help pay for updated, modernized voting systems across the state. The last major investment in California elections was 15 years ago, and according to Lawrence Norden, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, "With this bill, California proposes to lead the country with a comprehensive modernization, which will improve accessibility, security, and reliability of our state's elections."
For more information about this, visit the California Secretary of State's website here for the news release.
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National Civic Engagement News
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Photo Credit: Jim Lo | AP
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President launches commission to investigate voter fraud
President Trump signed an executive order this May creating the "Advisory Commission on Election Integrity" to investigate alleged voter fraud and voter suppression. Although the president's claims of voter fraud are not supported by credible evidence, this commission would examine allegations of improper voter registration and fraudulent voting across the country.
Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach are reported to be the chair and vice chair of the commission, and are expected to report their findings to Trump by 2018.
Check out the full story from the Associated Press
here.
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Photo Credit: Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
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Voting rights issues head to U.S. Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 5th that North Carolina lawmakers mapped out state legislative districts that disadvantaged black voters.
The justices upheld an August 2016 ruling that the districts were racial "gerrymanders," due to the district lines being drawn to diminish the voting power of minorities. The Supreme Court ruled this style of gerrymandering to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. See the Reuters
article
here
for more on this topic.
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Professional Opportunities
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Photo Credit: Jonathan Ernst | Reuters |
Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL)
WELL works with local elected officials who represent Latinos on California's water system to help ensure that long-term water policy will provide equitable and sustainable results for all Californians, the economy and environment.
Currently, they have a job opening in Los Angeles, CA for an Administrative Director who will oversee WELL's daily operations. Check out this
link
for the job posting.
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Photo Credit: Jonathan Ernst | Reuters |
IMPACT
IMPACT, a non-profit project of advocacy organizations such as Environment America and USPIRG, are looking to hire a team of field campaign organizers for a two-year program.
Organizers in this entry-level position will build and run grassroots campaigns, organize town hall meetings, lobby lawmakers, and set up and speak at news conferences. Check out the link
here for more information and to apply to this job.
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Photo Credit: Jonathan Ernst | Reuters |
Muslim American Society - Social Services Foundation
The Muslim American Society - Social Services Foundation (MAS-SSF) has two lead peer counselor positions open. MAS-SSF aids families at large and in the Muslim community with their social service needs.
MAS-SFF is looking to fill these two positions with qualified individuals who have familiarity with the South Asian community. For more information about this job and to apply, visit the link
here.
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Share Your Civic Engagement Research with the CCEP
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Are you working to promote inclusive civic engagement? Do you have a civic engagement success story to share? Share your story with CCEP and you could be featured in an upcoming issue of Engage! Please send your short write-up to Jennifer Puza at [email protected] for consideration. Thanks for reading and staying engaged!
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UC Davis California Civic Engagement Project
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Kim Alexander
President and Founder
California Voter Foundation
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Matt A. Barreto
Professor, Dept. of Political Science
Professor, Dept. of Chicana/o Studies
University of California, Los Angeles
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Jonathan Fox
Professor,
School of International Service
American University
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Luis R. Fraga
Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership
Professor of Political Science University of Notre Dame
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Lisa Garcia Bedolla
Chancellor's Professor of Education and Political Science
University of California, Berkeley
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Bruce Haynes
Associate Professor, Dept. of Sociology University of California, Davis
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Jongho Lee
Professor
Dept. of Political Science
Western Illinois University
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Peter Levine
Associate Dean for Research and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University
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Matt Mahan
Cofounder and CEO
Brigade
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James Muldavin
Executive Director
California Center for Civic Participation and Youth Development
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Karthick Ramakrishnan
Professor of Public Policy
University of California, Riverside
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Ricardo Ramirez
Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science
University of Notre Dame
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Jason Reece
Assistant Professor of Land Use Planning and Law
The Ohio State University
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Cruz Reynoso
Professor of Law Emeritus
University of California, Davis
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Dan Schnur
Director
American Jewish Committee
Los Angeles Region
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Shakari Byerly
Partner and Lead Researcher
EVITARUS
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California Civic Engagement Project
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The California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP) is housed at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change and was established to inform the public dialogue on representative governance in California. The CCEP is engaging in pioneering research to identify disparities in civic participation across place and population. It is well positioned to inform and empower a wide range of policy and organizing efforts in California to reduce disparities in state and regional patterns of well-being and opportunity. Key audiences include public officials, advocacy groups, political researchers and communities themselves.
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UC Davis Center for Regional Change
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The UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC). The CRC is a catalyst for innovative, collaborative, and action-oriented research. It brings together faculty and students from different disciplines, and builds bridges between university, policy, advocacy, business, philanthropy and other sectors. The CRC's goal is to support the building of healthy, equitable, prosperous, and sustainable regions in California and beyond.
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