Young Santa Barbara Author Empowers Future Voters

Garrett Williams Publishes 'One Day, I Will Vote' for Young Readers

Author Garrett Williams with his book, 'One Day, I Will Vote' | Credit: Courtesy

A young author from Santa Barbara is already making an impact with his children’s book that aims to educate young readers on the importance of voting.

After graduating a year early from Santa Barbara High School, 18-year-old Garrett Williams published a children’s book titled One Day, I Will Vote — a four-month project he decided to take on just a year ago. His inspiration came from working alongside his mother, Jennifer Williams, at polling stations, where he noticed the limited number of young voters.

While volunteering at the polls, Williams and his mother witnessed a memorable moment when a parent brought their 18-year-old to vote for the first time, comparing the excitement of the voting experience to the day she gave birth. This moment, though playful, sparked a serious conversation between mother and son about why voting isn’t a core value for young Americans. This experience fueled Williams’s motivation to create One Day, I Will Vote, a children’s book introducing the importance of civic responsibility, aiming to make voting as familiar to kids as other life lessons.

The book not only introduces the basics of voting to children but also includes discussion questions and vocabulary words to encourage early civic awareness. Williams likens teaching kids about voting to teaching math: They must be shown the building blocks early on, like addition, to work their way up to the more complex ideas, like calculus. Williams said, “If we start them young in understanding voting, they’ll be ready to pre-register when they turn 16, and by 18, they’ll fully appreciate the voting process.” Williams hopes his book, One Day, I Will Vote can serve as this election building block for children.

Williams is already targeting his next book to a junior high audience. Alongside his writing, he is pursuing his associate’s degree from Santa Barbara City College and has plans to transfer to a University of California school, with an eye on the U.S. Naval Academy as well. He said he was committed to youth civic education, with an emphasis on high school Voter Education Weeks to help make voting a bigger priority in schools.

One Day, I Will Vote is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and on the book’s website, onedayiwillvote.com.