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Last year, high school librarian Lucy Podmore received national accolades for her school's Freedom Walk, presented in observance of Banned Books Week. Students at her south-central Texas school had questions. They wanted to know what they could do to protect their First Amendment Rights, make their voices heard on the issue of censorship, and support their peers in neighboring school districts who face increasing restrictions to information access. Podmore's response? Inform yourselves and vote.

From there, Podmore's Freedom Walk has grown into , a school-wide event that took place recently during National High School Voter Registration Week, which coincided this year with Banned Books Week. The evening event was open to the public and featured Marc Favreau, co-author of ; a school alumna and founder of the non-partisan voting advocacy group, ; the League of Women Voters and other local civic organizations; and research stations to view local ballots and fact-check media and campaign statements.

Podmore has long supported registration for new voters at her San Antonio high school with basic services. In recent years, as key election issues became more personal for her students, Podmore has expanded the library's offerings to educate and prepare students to make informed decisions for themselves and engage constructively with others. In addition to Empowering Voters, Podmore sponsors a civic dialogue series for students so that they can build skills to listen, empathize, think critically, and discuss a range of issues that are important to them.

In addition to the national praise, the response from Podmore's students has been positive. Students have gotten involved in planning and running these and other events, sharing what they've learned and encouraging voter participation among their peers.

That's a win for the students, and a win for democracy.

Have a story about how your library or organization encourages voter participation?