How Teen Voters in Berkeley, Oakland Can Shape Upcoming School Board Elections

After a years-long fight, 16 and 17-year-olds in Berkeley and Oakland will be able to vote in school board elections this fall, the first two districts in the state to give young people a say in who governs their public schools.

Earlier this month, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced technology for printing and counting youth ballots is ready for the November election. Berkeley passed Measure Y1, giving young people the right to vote in school board elections in 2016. Oakland followed suit with Measure QQ four years later.

Ixchel Arista, an Oakland High School graduate, joined the campaign for the Oakland measure as a high school freshman.

“We are the main constituents and recipients of the decisions made at the school board level, and it only makes sense in my mind that 16-17 year-olds are able to decide who they feel is going to best represent their interests,” Arista says, adding that the challenge now is making sure young people have the information they need to cast their vote.

And there is a lot to learn. Chances are, if you are 16 or 17, you have never voted in an election before. If that’s the case, don’t worry; this is new to everyone. Even the county registrar has had a hard time figuring it out and spent months designing and building a new voting system for young people. Below, you’ll find information about how to register, how to learn about candidates, and where to vote.

Did we miss something? If you have other questions about how to vote, please send us your questions by filling out this form. If you’d like to email me directly, click here.

How do I register to vote?

To cast a ballot, people who are 16 or 17 need to register with the Secretary of State using a process called “pre-registration.” You can pre-register online or in person at the Alameda County Registrar’s office in the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse near Lake Merritt in Oakland at 1225 Fallon St., room G1. Paper forms are also available at some public libraries and DMV locations.

If you register online, make sure you select the “pre-register” option on the Secretary of State’s website. If you are using a paper form, check the box at the top of the page that says you are 16 or 17.

To pre-register to vote in  Berkeley or Oakland school board elections, you’ll need to meet all of the state’s regular voting requirements, other than being 18, and be a Berkeley or Oakland resident.

The online application will ask you for the following information, so it’s good to have it ready when you go online to fill out the form:

• Your home address
• The last four digits of your social security number or a state driver’s license or ID card number. If you don’t have a state ID, the registrar will need a copy of your signature to have on file. The registrar will compare that signature with the signature on your ballot to make sure it came from you. If you register on paper, the registrar will ask you to sign a legal document called an affidavit. If you register online, you will have to print a form, sign it and mail it to the registrar’s office.

After you register, you can check to make sure it was received using the Secretary of State’s registration voter status page. The Alameda County Registrar is encouraging young people to register before Oct. 21.

How can I learn about what I’ll be voting on?

Eligible voters who are 16 and 17 are only allowed to vote in their school board elections. In Oakland, there are four school board seats on the ballot in November, two in Berkeley.

In Oakland, only eligible youth voters living in school board Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 will vote this year. In 2026, Districts 2, 4 and 6, will be up for election. You can look up which Oakland school board district you live in using this Oakland Unified School District District map.

In Berkeley, school board members serve the entire city, so all eligible youth voters will be able to vote regardless of where they live in the city.

School boards are a group of people elected to make decisions about how local public schools operate. They vote on what schools teach, how schools are kept safe and how to spend money set aside by the state for schools. There is a lot to say about what school boards do. For more check out this 2020 article from The Oaklandside.

School board directors in Oakland and Berkeley are up for election every four years. Leading up to elections, people interested in becoming school board members file official paperwork, start raising money, make campaign websites, print advertisements like lawn signs (if you keep an eye out, you’ll probably see some around your city) and host campaign events.

To find out what candidates support, you can search online for their campaign websites, go to local campaign events or candidate forums, read local reporting about how candidates have voted in the past and research candidates in voter information guides. You can look up who is giving money to each candidate on Oakland’s campaign finance website or Berkeley’s campaign finance website.

KQED has a voter guide that will give you basic information about Oakland’s school board candidates for Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 and Berkeley’s school board candidates.

How do I vote?

If you pre-register with the Secretary of State, you’ll get a ballot sent to the address on your registration. You have to fill out the ballot, sign the envelope and send it in on or before Election Day on Nov. 5.

If you don’t receive a mail-in ballot, lose it or would just like to get help filling it out, there will be one location for in-person youth voting on Nov. 5: The Alameda County Registrar’s office at the Rene Davidson Courthouse.