Auburn Area Democratic Club Voter Outreach Committee
Sierra College Project
Commentary by Terry P Rodriguez, AADC President
On August 24, 2022, the Auburn Area Democratic Club Voter Outreach Team, led by Gail Barlow and Sandy Floyd, held their weekly voter registration drive at the Sierra College Quad to register voters and poll students on “what are the two main issues that would motivate them to vote.” This is what our future voters stated as their priorities for the upcoming election:
| Topic | Number of Student Responses |
|---|---|
| Abortion | 80 |
| Gun violence | 44 |
| Climate Change | 40 |
| Economy & Inflation | 37 |
| Future of the Marriage Equality Act | 23 |
| Social Justice | 10 |
| Voting Rights | 10 |
| War in the Ukraine | 9 |
| January 6th Insurrection | 6 |
Students were also asked the following questions, revealing a dramatic trend for their participation in the November elections:
Did you vote in the California Primary in June?
(Number of student responses)
Yes: 28
No: 61
Can’t Remember: 4
Do you plan to vote in November Mid-term election?
(Number of student responses)
Yes: 80
No: 3
Undecided: 18
On a subsequent visit on September 21, the Team asked Sierra College students how they felt about the following questions. The results were educational.
| Number of student responses: | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Is it important to protect Democracy? | 99 | 4 |
| Should corporations pay their fair share? | 83 | 6 |
| Should we oppose abortion bans? | 81 | 7 |
| Is the economy improving? | 10 | 79 |
| Do you reject stolen election lies? | 77 | 8 |
| Should we continue to fund pandemic preparedness? | 65 | 22 |
This Sierra College student polling revealed the issues of greatest importance to these students were about threats to the state of our Democracy, fairness in taxation, pro-choice on woman’s rights to choose regarding their health issues, and the current shaky state of the economy.
In analyzing one subject of this survey, the team deemed reproductive rights would be the main issue on the November ballot for these students. On the day this team registered 24 students to vote (18 women/6 men) it’s not surprising the number one concern was abortion rights and may indicate the Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade, will influence more young women to go to the polls in November.
The Team employed these surveys to measure the level of student awareness on these hot topics. It was also a way to motivate those students who have not registered to vote to do so. The results of these surveys provided a window into the minds of our young, future voters on what they consider are their main political issues and, hopefully, encourage them to vote.