Faculty: Laura Wray-Lake

A Movement to Lower the Voting Age

Social Welfare Professor Laura Wray-Lake spoke to CBS News’ Bay Area affiliate about efforts across the country to lower the voting age. In some cities in California, Maryland and Vermont, youths as young as 16 or 17 are permitted to cast ballots in local elections. “There’s brain research showing that young people have the decision-making capacity, particularly for reasoned and planned decisions, which voting is,” said Wray-Lake, who researches youth civic engagement. Some critics of a lower voting age note that teenagers tend to be more liberal and that could tilt elections. Wray-Lake said that that argument doesn’t hold up. ”Not all young people are liberal,” she said, “and we don’t give rights or deny rights based on people’s political orientation.”

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Wray-Lake Pens Commentary on Lower Voting Ages

A Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) commentary by UCLA Luskin Professor of Social Welfare Laura Wray-Lake highlights the first time that 16- and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote in school board elections in two California cities. Oakland and Berkeley teens will be the youngest voters in California, joining a growing number of under-18 youth nationally and internationally who have gained that right. “Policies to expand voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds are being actively debated in cities and states across the U.S.,” Wray-Lake said. Since 1995, California has considered statewide policy to lower the voting age 12 times, including in 2023 with proposed legislation that would have lowered the voting age to 17 for all elections. Wray-Lake outlines four arguments for lowering age requirements related to capacity, rights, developmental timing and civic engagement. “Lowering the voting age could also be a catalyst for greater investment in statewide civic education.”

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Wray-Lake on Civic Engagement Among Young People

September 25, 2024/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News Laura Wray-Lake /by Stan Paul

UCLA Luskin Professor of Social Welfare Laura Wray-Lake joined KBLA Talk 1580’s “First Things First” broadcast (starting at 6 min, 30 sec) on National Voter Registration Day to discuss civic engagement among young people. Wray-Lake, whose research is focused on youth civic engagement, is co-author of the 2024 book “Young Black Changemakers and the Road to Racial Justice” (Cambridge University Press). Host Dominique DiPrima started the conversation on youth engagement by noting that “what we hear is a lot of assumptions, stereotypes and condemnation of young people being thrown around.” But young people are leaders, visionaries and changemakers in many different ways, Wray-Lake said. Today’s youth are thinking about society in new ways, not hemmed in by the status quo, she said. “They can sort of picture social change much more visually and imagine those things more than some adults can.”

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Wray-Lake on California Motor-Voter Bill

September 12, 2024/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News Laura Wray-Lake /by Stan Paul

UCLA Luskin Professor of Social Welfare Laura Wray-Lake spoke to KPBS for a story about a proposed California bill designed to increase the state’s voter rolls by automatically registering eligible voters who obtain a state identification or driver’s license, or make a change of address through the DMV. The so-called motor-voter bill — SB 299 — recently passed in the state Legislature and, if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, could potentially increase civic engagement among young people and predominantly Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, according to proponents. Opponents of the bill believe it could have unintended consequences. Wray-Lake said that a number of states have successfully implemented similar legislation, citing a 2% to 3% increase in registration. She noted that California currently ranks 25th in the nation for registration of young voters. While amendments to California’s motor-voter law in 2015 implemented registration through the DMV, customers could still choose to opt out.

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Social Welfare Hosts International Youth Conference

June 12, 2024/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog David Turner, Hector Palencia, Laura Wray-Lake, Randall Akee /by Les Dunseith

From May 30 to June 2, UCLA Luskin Social Welfare served as host during the 9th edition of the International Youth Conference, which brought together youth from around the world for a series of in-person and online discussions, workshops and collaborations. Hector Palencia of the field faculty was the Luskin School’s local representative to the organizing group, with assistance from students and staff that included Carmen Mancha, Lorraine Rosales and Tera Sillett. The sessions taking place in the Public Affairs Building at UCLA were made available to a global audience of more than 720,000 people via live streaming on IYC’s digital platforms. Participants from 180 countries attended the conference online and in-person. The overarching focus was on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and youth inclusion in policymaking. In addition to Palencia, UCLA Luskin faculty members Laura Wray-Lake, Randall Akee and David Turner participated in conference events and panel discussions. They were joined by other scholars from UCLA and other universities, youth activists, civil society leaders and luminaries in international peace and security, science and technology, and global governance transformation. The media partner for this event was ABC7 in Los Angeles, which sent a news crew to campus to interview participants for a story that aired during a May 31 newscast.

View the ABC7 story

View photos from the conference

Watch a highlights video about the conference

UCLA Paper on Youth Electoral Engagement Wins UC-Wide Competition

May 28, 2024/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Laura Wray-Lake /by Mary Braswell

Although today’s young people are civically engaged in many ways, they continue to vote at lower rates than older age groups. A white paper by UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Laura Wray-Lake identifies the policy barriers keeping young citizens from the ballot box and offers several recommendations for building a more inclusive democracy in California. The paper won a competition among scholars from all University of California campuses, and Wray-Lake and her team of researchers will present the findings at a public lecture hosted by UC Center Sacramento on May 29. The competition is part of the UC system’s “Grow Our Own” initiative aimed at diversifying the academy by encouraging students to see their own potential. Wray-Lake and postdoctoral scholar Christopher Wegemer were commended for bringing three UCLA undergraduates onto the research team: public affairs major Leslie Ortiz, sociology and statistics major Ryo Sato, and philosophy and history major Amy Wong. Using multiple research methods, the team found that California has several laws that promote ease of access to registering and voting, yet more can be done to maximize participation by younger voters. Among the recommended policies is the designation of high schools as official voter registration agencies. California offers automatic voter registration (AVR) through the Department of Motor Vehicles, but young people today are much less likely to get their driver’s license. Since school enrollment requires identification and residency documents that also satisfy voter registration requirements, “establishing AVR in high schools would allow California to act on a commitment to bringing young voters to the ballot box,” the researchers write.

Read the white paper

View a recording of the public lecture

Breaking Old Cycles and Envisioning New Futures

March 18, 2024/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Laura Abrams, Laura Wray-Lake /by Mary Braswell

A new book by UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professors Laura Wray-Lake and Laura Abrams tells the stories of Black youth in Los Angeles who tap into the strength of their communities to challenge injustice. “Young Black Changemakers and the Road to Racial Justice,” written with a third lead author, Elan C. Hope of North Carolina State University, and several students and recent graduates, tells the stories of 43 young Black people and their journey into a life of civic engagement. Drawing strength from their Black identities, families, communities and civic organizations, they work for a future of dignity and equality for all Black Americans. “We aim not to intellectualize the Black experience but to portray young Black changemakers’ humanity by sharing their stories in their own words,” the authors write. The book’s subjects are 13 to 18 years old, a time when they are “actively figuring out who they are, who they want to be and what they stand for. … Because young people are less entrenched in ‘the way things are’ in society, they can better envision new futures and break old cycles.” Contributors to the book with UCLA affiliations include Mariah Bonilla BA ’23 in public affairs; Elena Maker Castro PhD ’23 in human development and psychology; social welfare doctoral students Domonique Kianna Henderson and Sara Bloomdahl Wilf; Dominique Mikell Montgomery PhD ’23 in social welfare; Victoria Millet MSW ’22; and Jason Anthony Plummer PhD ’22 in social welfare. Channing Mathews of the University of Virginia also contributed. Authors of the book will join some of the young people profiled at a March 21 book launch.

Study Finds Marginalization of Black and Latino Youth by Gun Violence Prevention Groups

June 14, 2023/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News Laura Wray-Lake /by Stan Paul

An article in The Guardian cited research led by UCLA scholars exploring the marginalization of Black and Latino organizers by national gun violence prevention groups. Co-principal investigators Sara Wilf and Taylor Reed, both UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Ph.D. students, worked with a UCLA Luskin-based team, including Professor of Social Welfare Laura Wray-Lake, the faculty advisor on the project. The researchers interviewed young Black and Latino violence prevention advocates who have had experience with gun violence prevention organizations. Findings from the study, representing the last four years, include reports by interviewees of “being tokenized, silencing of racially conscious organizing and expectation to educate white person racism,” according to team members who presented their work at the annual Society for Social Work and Research conference held in Phoenix in January. The study, which is now being peer reviewed, is supported by a grant from the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate and the Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. Social Justice Award.

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Wray-Lake Wins Grant to Study Youth Civic Engagement

November 2, 2022/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Laura Wray-Lake /by Mary Braswell

Laura Wray-Lake, professor of social welfare, received a $200,000 grant from AmeriCorps as part of the 2022 National Service and Civic Engagement Research Project. The grant is one of 21 awards totaling $3.7 million to university scholars around the country to support research on civic engagement, social cohesion, volunteering and national service programs. Wray-Lake’s scholarship is primarily focused on youth civic engagement, and her study will seek to identify effective strategies for supporting adolescents and young adults working to create a more just and equitable society. Working in collaboration with Elan Hope of Policy Research Associates and Emily Greytak of the American Civil Liberties Union, Wray-Lake will document the varied experiences and goals of youth activists and explore the role played by racial, ethnic, sexual and gender identities. The team will employ a multi-method approach that includes a survey of 1,500 young social change agents and an assessment of a social justice training program. “Our youth hold abundant potential to address society’s problems on local, national and global scales,” Wray-Lake said. “This project will help identify how best to support and sustain their civic engagement over time.”

Luskin Scholars Join UCLA’s New Initiative to Study Hate

October 12, 2022/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Aaron Panofsky, Laura Wray-Lake /by Mary Braswell

UCLA is launching the Initiative to Study Hate, an ambitious social impact project that brings together a broad consortium of scholars to understand and ultimately mitigate hate in its multiple forms. Supported by a $3 million gift from an anonymous donor, researchers including UCLA Luskin scholars will undertake 23 projects this year, the first of a three-year pilot program. Through his work with the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, Aaron Panofsky, professor of public policy and sociology, will map the ways white nationalist groups selectively use and reject science to perpetuate themes of otherization and dehumanization online. Researchers from UCLA Luskin Social Welfare will participate in three projects: Doctoral student Emily Maurin-Waters and associate professor Laura Wray-Lake will examine prejudicial violence against LGBTQ youth and the impact of whether it is framed as bullying or a hate crime. Doctoral student Taylor Reed will lead a team including Sara Wilf and Victoria Millet MSW ’22 to study racism and discrimination within organizing spaces, as experienced by Black and Latinx individuals taking part in youth gun violence prevention movements. And assistant professor Brian Keum and doctoral student Michele Wong will join a team from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health that will explore the spillover effect on the mental health of Asian Americans in the wake of the mass killing of spa workers in Atlanta, Georgia. From Urban Planning, master’s student Eliza Franklin Leggett will disrupt the built environment in an Alabama town with a history of white supremacy by inserting historical markers documenting hidden Black histories.

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