Youth Do Vote is excited to host the nonpartisan Youth Voter (and Poll Worker!) Fest on January 30 at Palo Alto College, bringing together high school and college students to celebrate Help America Vote Day (designated by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission) and provide an experiential opportunity to learn about voting, working elections and local civic engagement opportunities specifically for young people. The event brings together city and county departments to provide a tangible way for students to learn about programs and community leadership opportunities. Youth Do Vote will create a meet and greet space for students to engage in conversation with elected officials, journalists, and nonprofit/civic leaders to learn about their roles in our community. There will be a voting simulation station with Express Vote machines, election clerk recruitment with Bexar County election judges, interactive stations where students can register to vote, learn who represents them and make a plan to vote. In Texas, students can work elections at the age of 16. Youth Do Vote is bringing more awareness to the opportunity for students to serve as poll workers so that they can play an active, and vital, role in our democracy. Given the persistent shortage of poll workers to operate elections, it’s important to cultivate the next generation of election clerks and judges. Two main goals of the event are for students and educators to leave with new resources and relationships that will inform and prepare them for future elections and expand their knowledge of ways to get involved in their community. In support of Youth Do Vote and the Youth Voter (and Poll Worker!) Fest, Bexar County Judge Sakai approved a proclamation for Help America Vote Day, to be presented at Commissioners Court on January 23. The first Youth Voter Fest took place in September 2023 at UTSA, kicking off High School Voter Registration Week, just before the voter registration deadline for the November election.