As California closed out a history-making year, Secretary of State Chirley Weber thanked Californians for their support and for their continued commitment to democracy. Weber released a list of accomplishments in 2021.Despite the ongoing uncertainties of the pandemic over 12 million voters participated in the California gubernatorial recall election - nearly 3.5 million more than participated in the 2003 recall election.By-the-Numbers:#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');22,057,154Total registered voters (as of August 30), 88.87 percent of eligible voters — a state record.12,892,578Total votes cast. This is 3,479,084 more votes than were cast in the last statewide gubernatorial recall election in 2003.11,733,429Total vote-by-mail ballots, 91.01 percent of all votes cast.58.45 %Turnout percentage of registered voters.On March 10, Weber joined 14 other women secretaries of state in a Twitter chat hosted by the National Association of Secretaries of State. They discussed what it means to them to hold prominent statewide office, the challenges facing women in leadership and what they hope for future female officeholders.Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta and community leaders held a Voting Rights Town Hall on September 28 at Fresno State.They discussed the history of the #VotingRightsAct, attempts to revive Jim Crow- voting restrictions, state and federal efforts to protect and expand voting rights, and more.During the town hall, Weber and Dolores Huerta highlighted the gap in voter turnout between the younger and older generations. Weber reminded college students, “If you really want to make an impact, vote in mass.”The Office of Cybersecurity and Elections helped to educate Californians on #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth. In October, the California Secretary of State Office of Election Cybersecurity joined CISA and National Cyber Security Alliance in their effort to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online under the theme: “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.”During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the California Secretary of State's Office moderated a live Twitter Chat Q&A with participating Counties to better understand their election cybersecurity practices, debunk misconceptions, and promote safe and fair elections.In an ongoing effort to engage young voters who remain largely underrepresented in California's electorate, the California Secretary of State’s Office partnered with Snapchat to launch an educational Augmented Reality Lens to remind voters to cast their ballot in the California Gubernatorial Recall Election.On Election Day, all Californian Snapchat users could open Snapchat to use the Snapchat x California Secretary of State "Vote Safe CA" statewide lens which linked voters with additional information to vote at Vote.ca.gov.Snapchat reports over 280 million daily users and reaches over 100 million users in the United States, but most notably, Snapchat reaches 90% of all 13 to 24-year-olds in the United States. Though there have been increases in voter registration and turnout among California youth, 18 to 24-year-olds are still the lowest represented age group in the state electorate. The California Secretary of State works in its ongoing capacity to reach these voters through its Student Vote Project initiative.The Ballot Bowl competition during the 2021 Gubernatorial Recall Election resulted in almost 1,700 students registering to vote. Although they only had a little over a month to register students in time for the election, students from the CCCs, CSUs, UCs, and independent colleges showed up and signed up to vote.In the end, Chico State scored as the overall champion by registering 166 students. Honorable mention to Stanford University, UCLA, and Santa Monica College whom all registered the most students in their respective school systems. Good job to all the schools who participated. Keep up the great work.Additionally, on May 5, before the Student Vote Project knew they would be hosting another Ballot Bowl just months later, SVP hosted the first-ever Ballot Bowl awards ceremony. They honored the hard work of campuses throughout the state, including the 2020 Ballot Bowl Champion CSU Fullerton, and the 16 additional winners. Weber, a former educator in higher education, expressed her appreciation for all the SVP staff and the participants in the Ballot Bowl. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });