From the time a person is born to the time they die a person is classified by their gender. It is notated on your birth certificate and death certificate and hundreds of other legal documents including your passport and driver license. Until recently there were only two markers that a person could chose from on a legal document, "M" for male and "F" for female; however, a handful of other states have started providing a third option "X" for Gender X. According to an excerpt of Newsweek Gender X is "a gender that is not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to, intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, female-to-male, genderfluid, genderqueer, male-to-female, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transgender, transsexual, Two Spirit, and unspecified." Currently five places, California, Washington D.C, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon and as of November Colorado will allow an "X" designation on their driver license and five states, California, Washington, New Jersey, Oregon and just recently New York, allow for it on their birth certificates. Should Arizona be next? Let us know at What do you think?  

November 6th was Election Day, and everyone was able to get out and vote including the youth thanks to Kids Voting. While we will still have to wait to get the official results of this election the Kids Voting Arizona ballots have been tallied and your results are in. Here are some of the Kids Voting Arizona results: David Garcia received 49.93% of the votes would be elected Governor over Doug Ducey (43.31%) and Angel Torres (6.75%). Krysten Sinema received 41.53% of the votes and would be elected AZ US Senator over Martha McSally (34.97%) and Angela Green (23.52%). Lastly, January Contreras would be the Arizona Attorney General with 56.72% of the votes over Mark Brnovich (43.28%).   Follow this link for the full Kids Voting Arizona results. For current status on the real Arizona election click here.

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the United States Supreme Court, wrote a letter to the public not only to inform it of her diagnosis but also to remind us that, “It’s not enough to understand, you got to do something.” Those are the words she lives by and  told her own three sons countless times. For her, “There is no more important work than deepening young people’s engagement in our nation.” So, after retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, she continued to effect change through the creation of iCivics; a website created to help youth better understand the core principals of civics and government through interactive games and curricula. As she leaves public life to battle the early stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s, she reminds us again how important it is to help, “young people understand their crucial role as informed, active citizens in our nation.” Sandra Day O'Conner was just a "young cowgirl from the deserts of Arizona" who believes you have to do something and she became the first woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice. If a young person from Arizona can do that, imagine what you can do? To read her full letter click here or visit ICivics here.     

Have you ever heard of a position in government and wondered, what does that person really do? Well wonder no more, The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has you covered under their How Government Works section of their website. This site breaks things down between Federal, State, Countywide and City/Town Offices. If you click on a particular office, like Mine Inspector, it will provide you with a general description of the office. In case you are curious it says, "The Arizona Mine Inspector is in charge of inspecting the safety and conditions of mines in the state to ensure the safety of the mine workers and the general public." The website will also tell you the basics of the position and the detailed rules and responsibilities. They even have a neat tool called, Find My Officials, that allows you to see all your elected officials if you enter your address. (Don't worry they don't keep your information.) So, check it out and get informed. Then tell your parents. They may not know what a Mine Inspector does either.