Happy Anniversary
to the
California Civic Engagement Project!
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Dear CCEP colleagues, partners and friends:
Welcome to the October edition of Engage!
This month, the California Civic Engagement Project is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its public debut!
The last five years have been very rewarding as we have worked with so many wonderful partners towards the goal of a more inclusive democracy.
As we face new challenges ahead, the CCEP is committed to working collaboratively towards achieving a fully accessible and representative democracy in our state and nation. In these times, rigorous and relevant research is needed to reveal systemic inequities in participation and access present for so many communities. Going forward, we must continue to link this research to both public policy and on-the-ground efforts that address and overcome these inequalities. As so many of us know, representation in our civic and political systems is directly related to the well-being of our communities.
We pledge to work even harder in the years ahead to partner with communities and their allies to identify research that is needed to effect meaningful change and to communicate and disseminate research results as widely as possible.
On a personal note, it has been incredibly meaningful to have the privilege of leading the CCEP and seeing its research utilized by deeply committed and effective change agents. T
hank you for your support of our work and for your enduring partnership! Please stay tuned for some exciting new developments coming to
the CCEP i
n the next few months
!
With gratitude,
Mindy Romero, Ph.D.
CCEP Director
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17th Annual National Conference
October 12-14th
Imagining America, established in 1999 by the White House Millennium Council, the University of Michigan, and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, has officially moved its headquarters to UC Davis.
This organization is a consortium of over 100 academic and cultural institutions. Their mission is to publicly engage artists, designers, scholars, students, and culture workers in order to collaborate and contribute to community action and revitalization.
On October 12-14th, Imagining America will be hosting its 17th Annual National Conference in Davis, California. On-site registration will be available during the conference. For more information about this event, please visit the
Imagining America event page.
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Preserving Our Legacy
October 26th
Mutual Housing California will be honoring CEO Rachel Iskow's, 24 years of leadership during their annual fundraising event, "Preserving Our Legacy."
During the event, guests will enjoy dinner and wine, and will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items. All contributions from the event will go towards the Visionaries Legacy Fund.
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Reagan Leadership Summit 2017
November 11th
The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center invites high school and college student leaders to attend the 2017 Leadership Summit. This summit will provide young emerging leaders an opportunity to hear from one another and from distinguished speakers.
Registration for this event closes on November 3rd, or when capacity is reached.
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Spotlight on California Awards
December 1st
California Common Cause will be hosting their event, "Spotlight on California Awards" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on Friday, December 1st.
This event will be spotlighting
California's achievements in redistricting and elections and campaign finance reforms, while celebrating California as an example for the rest of the country.
At the event, Common Cause will be honoring
former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and California Citizens Redistricting Commissioners,
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and
California Senator Ben Allen.
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College of the Canyons to host civic engagement events
October 5-6th and October 10th
The College of the Canyons Civic Engagement Steering Committee hosted two events this October that aimed to encourage community college students to be active and informed citizens, and encouraged dialogue and civic engagement in democracy.
The first event, "Reaffirming the Mission of Democracy's Colleges' and Fostering Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines," was held October 5-6th. This event featured author and scholar, Thomas Ehrlich, who discussed the role of civic engagement in the classroom, and also discussed ways to increase voter participation, civic knowledge, and volunteerism in communities. Also in attendance was CCEP director, Mindy Romero. Romero served on a panel and discussed best practices for colleges on how to get students civically engaged.
The second event, "A Dialogue on Democracy: Rebuilding the American Spirit," was held on October 10th and presented by Chris Carson, national president of The League of Women Voters.
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New Civic Engagement Research
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How "drop-off" voters differ from consistent voters and nonvoters
A new report released in September by Pew Research Center found that "drop-off" voters, those who voted in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections but not in the 2014 midterm election, differ from consistent voters and nonvoters.
The study, based on a nationwide online survey, found that drop-off voters were less likely than consistent voters to feel that it made a difference which political party controlled the government, and drop-off voters reported having fewer conversations with friends about current events than consistent voters reported. In addition, the study found that Democrats and Democratic leaners made up a greater portion of drop-off voters (58%) compared to Republican and Republican leaning voters (40%).
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Civic Engagement Success Story
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Photo Credit: Emily Green | KQED
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UC Exchange students pitch in to help Mexico quake victims
When the 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City at the end of September, dozens of University of California exchange students decided to help.
While many organizations were raising money to help the victims, the UC students wanted to do something more direct. According to Jennifer Zepeda, student at UC Santa Cruz, donors "wanted to see their money being used appropriately." Therefore, once people gave money, the students would send them photos of how their donation was spent.
The students asked for donations to be sent to their Venmo accounts, which they used to purchase supplies to aid the earthquake victims. In total, the students received $9,000 in donations.
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California Civic Engagement News
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Girl Scouts of the USA launches civic engagement initiative
On October 6th, Girl Scouts of the USA launched a nonpartisan initiative titled G.I.R.L. Agenda Powered by Girl Scouts.
This initiative provides millions of girls with expert-curated civic engagement resources that they can use to lead positive change through civic action.
On the
G.I.R.L. Agenda website, users will find civic action toolkits for grades K-5, middle school, and high school that will help inspire and prepare them to take civic action.
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Assemblyman Evan Low urges youths to get politically engaged
California Assemblyman Evan Low spoke at his alma mater, Leland High School early this month to encourage students to become more politically engaged, and to advocate for more robust government education in schools.
According to CCEP research, one-third of voters age 18 to 24 cast a ballot in the 2016 primary election. While this turnout was a significant improvement from the previous primary, Low said many young voters are still too disconnected from the politics that affect their world.
To address this, Low and fellow Assembly members tried to get a state constitutional amendment passed that would lower the voting age from 18 to 17 years old. While their amendment proposal failed, Low still wants young people to develop an early interest in politics, and for parents and the community to do a better job at informing and educating young people.
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Who's behind that political ad? Voters will know more in 2018
On October 7th, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed the "California Disclose Act," or Assembly Bill 249, into law.
This law will require the top three financial contributors to the committee paying for a political advertisement to be disclosed to voters.
According to the author of this bill, Assemblyman Kevin Mullen, "
This transparency is critical to our democracy and I am proud that California has taken this historic first step to shine the light on 'dark money.' Hopefully this will encourage others to follow suit."
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California moves up 2020 primary elections to March
On September 27th, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 568, the "Prime Time Primary Act," which moves California's primary election to the beginning of March.
Moving California's primary up three months to March is expected to increase the influence California could have in deciding the presidential candidates during the 2020 election.
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National Civic Engagement News
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Photo Credit: Jim Watson | Getty Images
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Partisan gerrymandering: How much is too much?
The Supreme Court of the United States is taking on the issue of partisan gerrymandering.
The Court is currently hearing a case from Wisconsin, where in 2011, Wisconsin federal courts found that Republicans used high-speed computer technology and voter data to draw district lines. The maps drawn with this technology were so precise, that it would reinforce the Republicans' control over their state Legislature for the remainder of the decade or longer.
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Photo Credit: Connor Sheets | The Guardian
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Too poor to vote: How Alabama's 'new poll tax' bars thousands of people from voting
In May, Alabama governor Kay Ivey signed into law the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act that eliminates felons' rights to vote until they have paid off any fees, fines, and restitutions.
According to Randall Marshall, executive director of the
ACLU, these financial barriers are, "an unconstitutional poll tax that discriminates against individuals on the basis of wealth."
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CCEP Outreach: In the Media
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National Voter Registration Day
Capital Public Radio (CPR) talked with CCEP director Mindy Romero about National Voter Registration Day and what changes have been made to make voting easier for voting-age adults.
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KBAK Eyewitness News Mornings | Bakersfield
CCEP director Mindy Romero spoke with KBAK Eyewitness News about California's primary being moved up from June to March. Moving the primary would give California eight months instead of five to discuss the issues its citizens care about, while also getting California's voice heard in the political dialogue early.
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Experts say Prop 54 offered transparency, but should apply to more votes
This year at the California state capital, government watchers said that while Proposition 54 created more accountability, it should have been applied to bills earlier on in the legislative process.
CCEP director Mindy Romero discussed the application of Prop. 54 to bills as they pass through the Legislature, as well as issues raised by advocates in the policy field regarding its application.
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KION News Channel | Monterey
KION Monterey spoke with CCEP director Mindy Romero about what it could mean for California if their primary election was moved from June, up to March.
According to Romero, in previous years key political races have typically been decided before California held its primary. By moving the primary earlier, candidates would have to address the issues that California voters care about.
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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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Samuel Molina
California State Director
Mi Familia Vota
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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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