About California Student Vote

The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project is America’s oldest and largest nonpartisan youth voter mobilization program. The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project, a 501(c)(3) organization with 4945(f) status, has run peer-to-peer young voter mobilization drives to turn out the youth vote on college campuses for more than 25 years. The New Voter’s Project does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, a political candidate or political party for elected office. Our goal is to engage as many students as possible in each and every election cycle in order that our generation be represented in the political process, regardless of ideology or political affiliation.  Our goal this election is to help register 100,000 students to vote and make 250,000 get out the vote contacts.

The Student PIRGs have been pioneers in youth voter registration and mobilization efforts. In 1983, the PIRGs launched the National Student Campaign for Voter Registration, the nation’s first major youth mobilization effort since 18 years olds received the franchise in 1972. This initial effort helped register nearly one million students to vote throughout the 1980s. In 1994, working with Rock the Vote, Campus Green Vote and Green Corps, the PIRGs launched the Youth Vote Coalition. The coalition eventually grew to include more than 100 organizations, helped to register well over a million voters through the participating organizations, and helped to ensure coordination and collaboration within the youth civic engagement community. The Student PIRGs then used the expertise gained through these efforts to launch the New Voters Project, which has helped to register more than 600,000 young voters and made 650,000 GOTV contacts since our launch in 2003.

CALPIRG Education Fund: With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, CALPIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation. We aim to serve all people of California. CALPIRG Education Fund has several decades of experience working to improve civic participation in our democracy, through both policy development and advocacy as well as direct outreach and engagement efforts.

UC Student Association: Founded by students in 1971, the University of California Student Association (UCSA) is the official voice of over 220,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at all ten UC campuses. UCSA’s board of directors is made up of leadership from the Associated Students (undergraduate student government) and Graduate Student Associations at each member campus. UCSA has a history of building broad campus coalitions to coordinate voter registration and GOTV efforts. In 2010, we helped over 40,000 students get registered to vote and in 2008 they helped more than 42,000 UC students get registered.

The California State Student Association (CSSA) is a non-partisan advocacy organization governed by a student Board of Directors composed of the officially recognized representatives of each of the 23 CSU campuses. Established in 1958 by student leaders, CSSA provides a collective voice for CSU students at the system-wide level and to the state and federal government. CSSA is the official voice of the over 470,000 CSU students.

Our Partners: