Democracy in Action at Search!

This fall, the Search community is exercising their fundamental rights as American citizens by participating in the 2016 Election. As we all know, voting can be anything but straightforward. To help navigate the process, Search has created a variety of non-partisan election activities, including classroom lessons, community outings, and interactive workshops, designed to encourage advocacy and participation in the voting process.

The activities created by Search include a 13-week Glidepath curriculum module, "Elections: National, Statewide, and Local," that addresses the upcoming election. This module complements lessons such as "Elections 101," which provides basic information about the voting process, and "Elections: Primaries" which helps individuals understand the options that they have for nominating officials at the national, state and local levels. This set of classroom learning experiences is complemented with a community outing to tour a local town or city hall.

Also, in Fall 2016 Search is offering the Ignite class "Self-Advocacy: Elections 2016." This informative course will provide opportunities for individuals to think about the important issues that are part of this year's Presidential and local elections. Group discussion, computer use, reading, and debating the topics will be part of sessions that challenge students to advocate for their best interests.

Finally, the Self-Advocates for Search group will be hosting non-partisan workshops monthly from August - October at our Lincoln and Kensington sites. The fun and interactive workshops will cover important topics like:

• Verification of Voter Registration/Polling Places
• Overview of Election Process
• Listening to Candidates Speeches/Debates
• Researching Issues of Concern
• Local Elections
• Early Voting

Empowering our participants to be full and active members of the community is at the heart of Search's mission - and we can't think of a better way to fully participate in the community than to engage in the democratic values that founded our country.