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Voting for the First Time: What First Time Voters Need to Know

Published

6 years ago

October 29, 2020

Damali Robertson

Damali Robertson

Voting can be confusing. Especially in California.

California has 13 propositions on the ballot in addition to multiple races and measures across the state.

If you’re a first-time voter – a 19-year-old Gen-Z-er or systems-impacted person-California’s propositions may feel more intimidating.

My daughter, a 19-year-old college student, is voting for the first time, as is Snoop Dogg, a 49-year-old, hip-hop legend, and systems-impacted person. Even with a 30-years age difference, they both care about racial, economic, and criminal justice issues.

California’s propositions will help inform many of these issues long after November 3. That’s why the Young Women’s Freedom Center (YWFC) created this voter guide with first-time voters in mind.
YWFC is a leadership and advocacy organization led by systems-involved young and adult women and transgender gender non-conforming (TGNC) people of color who have
grown up in poverty.

I read their guide cover to cover and think it is an essential voter education resource. Here are their recommendations on seven of the key racial, economic, and criminal
justice propositions you’ll find on the ballot:

Proposition 15: Prop. 15 would tax the top 10% of commercial property owners. This proposition targets big business. Businesses with less than $3 million in holdings would be exempt. Sixty percent of the taxes collected would go to local governments and 40% would go to schools. We need more money in schools! Big corporations can afford to pay a little more. YWFC says YES on 15! I agree.

Proposition 16: Prop. 16 would reauthorize affirmative action in California. This is important in college admissions and employment. When affirmative action was banned in 1996, diversity numbers plummeted in our schools and workplaces. YWFC says YES on 16! I agree.

Proposition 17: Prop. 17 would give people on parole the right to vote. There are over 57,000 people on parole in California – the majority of them are Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. They’ve served their time. Their rights need to be restored. YWFC says YES on 17! I agree.

Proposition 20: Prop. 20 would give prosecutors more power to hand out stiffer sentences and penalties for lower offenses and increase penalties for formerly incarcerated who violate the terms of their probation or parole. YWFC says NO on 20! I agree.

Proposition 21: Prop. 21 would expand rent control across the state. California needs this! The proposition also includes “vacancy control,” which only allows landlords
to increase the rent by 15% once a tenant vacates. This helps keep prices down in a state where prices often seem to be out of control. YWFC says YES on 21! I agree.

Proposition 22: Prop. 22 rips protections from gig workers – i.e., Lyft and Uber drivers. A NO on Prop. 22 keeps gig workers classified as employees rather than independent contractors, giving them benefits like overtime, healthcare, and sick time. YWFC says NO on 22. I agree.

Proposition 25: Prop. 25 is complicated. It appears to be a solution to an age-old problem – cash bail. On the surface, it ends cash bail but the proposition would also give judges more power to hold someone before trial and it provides additional funding to law enforcement. YWFC says NO on 25. I am neutral. This one is a hard one to call. Voting is always a personal decision. But, it never hurts to have a little help.

Especially if you’re a first-time voter.

Damali is the Deputy Director of Strategic Partnerships at Root & Rebound. She is a mission-driven nonprofit leader passionate about advancing positive social change, a restorative justice practitioner, and a poet.

Damali Robertson

Posts by Damali Robertson

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

11 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

14 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.