ALA partners with Democracy Class on voter education for youth

*** Free, new resources available for National Voter Registration Day, September 24***

The American Library Association (ALA), a new partner of Democracy Class, encourages school and public libraries to deliver the one-hour program to teenage patrons in advance of National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday, September 24, 2019. Apremier partner of National Voter Registration Day, ALA is also urging libraries to observe the nonpartisan, unofficial holiday, which is celebrated on the fourth Tuesday of September.

An initiative of the nonpartisan nonprofit Rock the Vote, Democracy Class is a free curriculum that educates high-school-aged students about the importance and history of voting and pre-registers and registers them to vote. The curriculum comes with a webinar about implementing the program, Voting and Voices: Engaging Students and Families in Democracy. The webinar covers state-specific guides for conducting registration drives, strategies to help combat polarization in the classroom, and tips for creating a culture that encourages civil discourse.

Participating libraries and educators will have access to additional lesson plans featuring:

• the history and importance of voting,
• modern-day voting rights,
• the significance of local elections,
• how voting impacts issues in communities, and
• the 2020 Census.

Democracy Class is available anytime, free of charge, but organizers encourage using the curriculum during the week of September 16, the week preceding National Voter Registration Day 2019 on Tuesday, September 2019. To support libraries’ efforts to serve voters and promote civic engagement, the American Library Association (ALA) encourages libraries to advantage of opportunities to celebrate the day with free resources provided by Democracy Class and National Voter Registration Day.