This year’s honorees were selected for this annual recognition for their commitment to student voter participation and civic engagement. 

“I believe that voting is really important. Voter access is really important. It’s deeply personal for me,” Navarette said in her acceptance speech.

Navarette explained that she was born and raised in Southern California and that her family immigrated to California in the 1960s. Although her family immigrated in the ’60s, her parents didn’t register to vote until 1994 when Proposition 187 was on the ballot. 

“Proposition 187 really sought to disenfranchise communities that looked like mine. That sought to remove access to everything, including education. That really galvanized us and it instilled in a much younger me the power of voting; the power of why sometimes access is removed,” Navarette said.

Since then, voting has become an important part of her family’s life, including having Zoom calls to discuss their ballots, and why it was important to her to help install one of Yolo County’s Ballot Drop Boxes on the Woodland Community College campus for students. 

“That’s why I appreciate the work the League of Women Voters does, because local engagement matters so much, Navarette said. “That's a day-to-day life we get to see and the improvements we get to see much sooner.”

The league joined Navarette and Yolo County Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas for the dedication of the new Drop Box on National Voter Registration Day in September 2024, when all spoke about the importance of voter access and youth participation. 

“Right now, our challenge is to make sure we do everything possible to help students vote. I’m so delighted to have partners in democracy, and doing everything small or large to give greater access to their rights and make a better community for all of us,” Navarette said. 

In accepting her award, Reed spoke about the “Meet the Candidates” forum collaboration she helped facilitate with the league last October. 

Reed spoke of the risk that the college and the league both took in pursuing this first-time event.

“There was a possibility of chaos but it worked out really well. There were fewer students than we hoped but we know how to do it better next time,” Reed said. “The candidates who showed up also took a risk because they didn't know what was going to happen. The candidates came and were happy to talk to students. They were gracious and I know that they were probably very busy and probably wanted to be out doing other things but they came to Woodland because it was worth it to connect with students.”

Reed said that the experience was overall a positive one for the students and the candidates and hopes that the event can be expanded in the future. During the candidate forum in October 2024, students were able to engage directly with candidates and gain a first-hand understanding of their perspectives. 

“The empathy and clear thinking and problem solving were exactly what we needed,” Reed said. 

After the award presentation, Yolo County Registrar of Voters’ Salinas gave an update on the recent history of Yolo County’s efforts to support increased voter participation, especially among youth voters aged 19 to 24. This was followed by a presentation on the upcoming Proposition 50 Special Election.

Noting several unique aspects of the Nov. 4 ballot measure, Salinas explained that Yolo County will gain an additional congressional representative, going from two to three, if Prop. 50 passes.

“What’s interesting about Prop. 50 is that it’s temporary, up until the 2030 census is redone,” said Salinas. “This isn't permanent; it’ll go back to the redistricting committee. If voters reject Prop. 50, there’s no change.”

Referring to the shortened timeline for the Special Election preparation, Salinas said, “We typically start planning six months ahead. One of the more challenging parts of this election was that it was such a short time that we didn't have spaces for everything.”

This year, 15 drop boxes across the county and six in-person vote centers will be available for the Special Election. The in-person vote center locations will include Davis, West Sacramento, Woodland and Winters. More information about the opening times and locations can be found at elections.yolocounty.gov/vote-locations.

The meeting concluded with a reminder that the League of Women Voters of Yolo County would hold a public voter education event, “Understanding the Proposition 50 Special Election: Nonpartisan Voter Information for Yolo County” after press time on Oct.15 at the Woodland Community Center. The event will be available to see online until Election Day, Nov. 4 at lwvyolo.org. 

The League of Women Voters is committed to informing voters on local governance issues and increasing access to election information. It is a non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to voter education and empowering citizens to shape better communities nationwide. For more information about the League of Women Voters of Yolo County, visit lwvyolo.org.