The campaign focuses on peer advocacy to encourage civic participation

By Lizeth Tello

Holding colored cards representing various voter age groups to compare turnout rates, a class of over 20 students from the Early College Academy at Natomas Charter School directed their attention to the front of the room where Clarissa Laguardia, executive director of The California Center for Civic Participation, gave a presentation on youth voter registration on Feb. 4.

As part of CalCenter’s youth initiative Shake The Future Up, Laguardia visits various classrooms around Sacramento County to educate students about civic participation and directly guide them on how to register to vote. 

Shake The Future Up is a grassroots-driven effort to increase voter registration among youth by empowering them through peer advocacy and civic education from The California Center for Civic Participation. The campaign currently only covers Sacramento County, but Laguardia said that the hope is to expand their reach in the future.

In order to encourage more civic action among young people, Laguardia said that the Shake The Future Up campaign tries to be mindful of different circumstances that might act as an obstacle for youth, often brainstorming ways to make the voting process more accessible.

“Our approach is that young people are full human beings that have eyes and ears, that also experience anxiety and mental health, and they’re hungry too,” Laguardia said.

Laguardia said she came up with the idea for the campaign after attending the Innovation for Impact Leadership Intensive from the Center for Artistic Activism in fall 2025. She recalled thinking about the type of people she’d see at community events regarding voter registration and realized she had yet to see a civic effort by young people for young people. In November 2025, Shake The Future Up was officially launched.

In order to brainstorm ways to engage youth and make the voting registration process more immersive, multiple committee meetings took place to generate ideas like organizing an exhibit or an interactive traveling art installation, which might be implemented starting this year.

“If we have more voter polls and people going out to tell people to vote, more people will be voting,” said Luwinna Wu, a 17-year-old student from Natomas Charter School who is also a student board representative and a youth leader involved with Shake The Future Up. “Additionally, from what I know, people who have mentors or family members who vote are more likely to vote. So, it’s best we have more [good] influences too.”

California residents are eligible for registration if they are U.S. citizens, aged 18 and over, not serving time for conviction of a felony and are not lawfully prohibited to vote because of “mental incompetency.” Youth who are 16 or 17 years olds are able to pre-register, if they meet those same requirements.

Based on voter registration data from the California Secretary of State, Sacramento County has about 223,750 unregistered adults. Around 12% of registered voters are between the ages of 17 and 25, the main demographic Shake The Future Up is targeting, which is about 4-6% lower than other age groups.

Laguardia said she thinks one major reason youth might not vote is because they are not being treated like full human beings or as equals. She said young people might face gatekeeping from older generations, despite youth being the ones who will be facing the future.

“They will be living with the impact of [voting decisions],” Laguardia said.

Young people around Sacramento, both registered and unregistered, expressed concerns that motivated them to want to vote, including affordability and the rising cost of living, threats to civil rights and a chance to make lasting change.

Hugo Arreguin, a junior at Sacramento State majoring in mechanical engineering, said he registered to vote in 2022. He said his parents, who are not originally from the U.S., were a major reason why he decided to register to vote since he was given that privilege as a result of his parents’ immigration. One of the reasons he felt motivated to vote, besides immigration and education, is affordability.

Arreguin said that he felt that it is important for people to have a say in laws that affect them financially. He said that he hopes to move out on his own and buy himself a house one day, but it’s difficult when the cost of living is constantly going up.

“Some people are trying to make a living, and you can’t do that if everything is too expensive,” Arreguin said.

Sac State student and English major Aarrick Alvarado, 21, is registered to vote and is also concerned about lack of affordability. Though he said he is most concerned about potential economic instability due to tariffs, Alvarado also noted that overall price increases were a big issue for him.

“When tariffs are changing everyday and the threat of tariffs is constant, how can people in business plan? How can people like me who have to go paycheck to paycheck think about what I’m gonna do?” Alvarado said. “Am I gonna be able to afford rent? Because, oh my God, milk is now $20, eggs are now $20. It’s like, I guess I’m just not gonna have breakfast then; it’s too expensive.”

Tamim Babak, an 18-year-old student majoring in architecture at Cosumnes River College, said that he is not registered to vote but plans to sometime next week. He said that he is concerned about potential rigged elections and misrepresentation, citing the 2016 presidential election as an example when Russia interfered with a U.S. election. Babak also said his biggest motivation is wanting to utilize his voting power toward a good cause.

“With a lot of political stuff going on right now, I think it’s moreso important for younger people, as soon as they become eligible, to go and use their voting power and put it toward something good,” Babak said.

Jared Sorrentino, a junior Sac State marketing major, is a registered voter and expressed human rights and affordability as major concerns, especially since such issues directly affect his life.

“It’s more important now than ever and it’s definitely taken an effect on not only my life but also my wife’s life,” Sorrentino said. “Knowing we’re gonna have a baby soon, it’s gonna affect my baby’s life so I’m trying to protect that as much as possible.”

Laguardia said that she believes it is important to plan for succession and the future is up to the youth.

“We just need to have a united front, I think, going forward,” Laguardia said. “And that’s what this program is about.”

According to a press release from Shake The Future Up sent last November, the goal is to get 10,000 people between the ages of 17 and 35 registered by June. Laguardia said that the campaign has more school visits planned, with the next stop being Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento in mid-February.

“A vote may be a drop in the bucket, but our votes collectively fill that entire bucket,” Laguardia said. “We are powerful as a collective.”

This story is part of a six-part series called “Solving California,” a project of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative that explores models to improve California. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, CapRadio, Capitol Weekly, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Support stories like these here, and sign up for our monthly newsletter.