Civic-Education

Join us for a free community seminar featuring Tony Guan, Vice Chair of Equal Rights for All PAC (ERFAPAC) and SVCA board member, as he shares how he uses OpenClaw AI to build powerful workflows and web interfaces that advance civic engagement and legislative advocacy. Event Details 📅 Date: Saturday, April 4, 2026 ⏰ Time: 6:00 PM Pacific Time (PDT) 💻 Format: Zoom (Free · Open to All) 🎤 Speaker: Tony Guan — Vice Chair, ERFAPAC · SVCA Board Member 🔗 Register here (free) ...

On Saturday, March 7, 2026, SVCAF hosted its first internal OpenClaw Seminar — a community event bringing together board members, volunteers, and curious community members to explore how AI agents are transforming the way our organization operates. Presenters Chunhua Liao, Sam Li, and Rich Liu walked attendees through live demos, real workflows, and practical insights on getting started with AI agents. Here is a recap of the key highlights. 📊 View the full slides: SVCAF OpenClaw Seminar — March 7, 2026 ...

Watch the Event Promo If you or someone you know has received a UC rejection letter, you are not alone — and you are not out of options. SVCAF, in partnership with SARD (Students for Admissions Reform and Diversity), is hosting a free community forum featuring a nationally recognized expert on college admissions policy. Event Details 📅 Date: Sunday, April 5, 2026 ⏰ Time: 8:00 PM Pacific Time 💻 Format: Zoom (Free · Open to All) 🎤 Featured Speaker: Professor Richard Sander — UCLA School of Law, Founder of SARD 🎙️ Host: Jason Xu — SARD Board Member & Former SVCA Foundation President About the Speaker Professor Richard Sander is a law professor at UCLA School of Law and the founder of SARD. He is one of the nation’s leading researchers on college admissions policy and has spent decades advocating for transparency and fairness in university admissions. ...

Hosted by: Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) Partner: Children’s Educational Opportunity — EducationOpportunity.org Format: Zoom community information session Date: September 28, 2025 7 PM-8 PM (Pacific Time) TL;DR SVCAF hosted a community info session with the Children’s Educational Opportunity (CEO) Act team about a proposed Education Savings Account (ESA) program that would provide $17,000 per TK–12 student annually in California. Funds could follow the student to approved providers (private, faith-based, homeschool, online) and unused funds roll over, earn interest, and are usable for college or trade school. The team aims to qualify the measure for the November 2026 ballot through a statewide signature drive. Volunteers—including SVCAF members—can help with outreach and signature collection. ...

We’re excited to announce that the AI4Legislation 2025 competition has officially closed for submissions — and we received 4 outstanding projects from individuals and teams passionate about using AI to improve civic engagement and legislative transparency. 🧠 Submitted Projects Behind the Bill – An AI-powered bill explainer that makes legislative language accessible to the public. Video | GitHub Repo Congressional Bill Tracker – A machine learning dashboard that predicts the success of U.S. congressional bills using real-time data. Video | GitHub Repo ...

*Digital Democracy: AI For Good * by Prof. Foaad Khosmood Slides: Link Summary Generated by Zoom AI Companion Seminar Format and Presentation Planning Chunhua and Foaad discussed technical issues with screen sharing and confirmed that Foaad could present his slides. They agreed on the format of the seminar, which would include a presentation followed by a Q&A session. Foaad mentioned he would include a pop quiz at the beginning of his presentation, and Chunhua approved of this idea. They noted that while some people had registered for the seminar, others might forget, but the session would be recorded for those who couldn’t attend. ...

Saturday, July 12 · 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern Guest: Prof. Foaad Khosmood Why you’ll want to meet him • Forbes Endowed Professor of Computer Engineering at Cal Poly SLO • Research Director, Institute for Advanced Technology & Public Policy (home of Digital Democracy) • Co-founder & past president of Global Game Jam —the world’s largest game-creation event • Emmy-winning data-journalism collaborator (2025 Northern California Emmys) for Digital Democracy reporting with CalMatters & CBS News ...

Another exciting AI4Legislation seminar hosted by SVCAF! This event is designed to energize our ongoing competition community and welcome new faces interested in the intersection of AI and civic innovation. 👨‍💻 Presenters: Alex Liao, Arnav Kakani, Sanjana Gowda, Shely Jain, and Mrinal Agarwal (Award-winning hackathon participants and experienced student developers) 💡 What You’ll Learn: When to use which AI tool for speed, privacy, or review Live demos with GitHub Copilot, OpenAI tools, Claude Code, and more How AI makes coding easier, smarter, and more fun—without replacing you. ...

Join us for another exciting AI4Legislation seminar hosted by SVCAF! This event is designed to energize our ongoing competition community and welcome new faces interested in the intersection of AI and civic innovation. 🎯 Seminar Focus: Learn how to boost your coding skills using modern AI coding tools. We’ll introduce 6 beginner-friendly tools and walk through 2 real-world coding challenges. Perfect for students, beginners, and the AI-curious! 👨‍💻 Presenters: Alex Liao, Arnav Kakani, Sanjana Gowda, Shely Jain, and Mrinal Agarwal (Award-winning hackathon participants and experienced student developers) 💡 What You’ll Learn: When to use which AI tool for speed, privacy, or review ...

AI4Legislation held its 3rd webinar last Sunday, June 8 2025, featuring an LLM expert from the East Coast: Mr. Leon Guo! Leon discussed various aspects of AI language models, including their capabilities, limitations, and applications in coding and data analysis. We also explored AI tools, data scraping techniques, and the potential of AI agents, concluding with discussions on project ideas and resources for model selection. AI in Programming: Opportunities and Challenges The meeting began with Chunhua promoting an upcoming competition and introducing the AI for Legislation Tech Seminar. Cynthia hosted the seminar, introducing speakers and managing the presentation flow. Leon, an expert in large language models, discussed the evolving role of computer science and the impact of AI on programming. He highlighted how AI tools like GitHub Copilot have revolutionized coding by reducing the need for manual debugging and API documentation reading. However, Leon also noted limitations of AI, such as high operational costs, slow processing speeds, and the potential for hallucinations and errors. The session concluded with an open invitation for questions, which attendees were encouraged to submit via chat. ...

Hosted by the AI4Legislation Team of SVCAF We are excited to invite all teams and individuals—especially those who have submitted a Letter of Intention for the 2025 AI4Legislation competition—to join us for an insightful seminar focused on AI programming and data analysis. Whether you are a high school student, college student, or an AI-curious innovator, this session will help you understand how to integrate large language models into meaningful civic tech and policy analysis projects. ...

Quick Recap Yesterday, our guest Karen Suhaka, founder of BillTrack50, presented with us on using AI to analyze legislative data, highlighting how her platform provides bill summaries, tracks legislation, and aids public understanding. She discussed the complexities of the U.S. legislative process, the technical and ethical considerations in building policy-focused AI tools, and advice for entrepreneurs creating civic tech solutions. Karen has generously shared both her BillTrack50 API and her slides for the presentation with us. To access the API (until August 1, 2025), you must reach out to Karen@LegiNation.com as a competitor in AI4Legislation. Thank you, Karen! ...

SVCAF is hosting the second webinar of our 4-part AI4Legislation series! This time, Karen Suhaka, founder of BillTrack50, will be sharing her in-depth insights on: Building legislative technology, including identifying a need, choosing your data and method, and navigating ethical considerations Her own legal tech company, BillTrack50, as a case study from starting up to scaling and customer feedback Project ideas for the Summer 2025 AI4Legislation competition (details found here) Tips for entrepreneurship ...

Quick Recap The webinar covered discussions on an upcoming project, the AI for Legislation competition, and the potential of AI in legal and legislative processes. Participants shared their experiences and insights on AI technology, its applications in simplifying legal matters, and its potential impact on various industries. The conversation also touched on the challenges and opportunities of AI, including its limitations, potential biases, and the importance of focusing on solving real-world problems with passion. ...

SVCAF is hosting the first seminar of the AI4Legislation competition on the applications of artificial intelligence in legislation. Join us to interview both the founder of Legalese Decoder and our foundation’s President about how AI is shaping legislation, ethics, and governance. Event Overview The AI4Legislation seminar series is recurring during the first week of each month, with the purpose of providing project guidance, inspiration, and current information about legislative AI tools to our competitors and the general public. As AI becomes increasingly capable, we need to harness its power and efficiency to make processes more equitable and effective. Legislation is no exception. ...

AI4Legislation: Using AI to Enhance Civic Awareness and Action A Project by Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) Introduction The Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) is committed to empowering civic engagement, particularly among Chinese American communities. We believe that technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), can bridge the gap between citizens and the legislative process. With this vision, we are launching AI4Legislation, an open competition that invites innovators to develop and submit open-source, public domain AI tools that make legislation more transparent, understandable, and accessible to the public. The competition will engage participants nationwide, encouraging youth, civic leaders, technologists, and legal professionals to contribute AI-driven solutions that foster greater civic participation. ...

The Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering civic engagement, particularly within Chinese American communities. We believe in leveraging technology to bridge the gap between citizens and legislative processes. We are excited to launch AI4Legislation: AI for Civic Awareness and Action, an open competition inviting innovators to develop and submit open-source, public domain AI-based tools that simplify and enhance public understanding of and engagement with legislation in the USA. This project has the potential to make a real impact on civic awareness and participation nationwide. ...

大家好！美国2024年的大选已经拉开了帷幕，大家也许都开始参加了一些选举的活动，准备将代表我们人民的候选人选上去。然而我们绝大多数选民不知道的是，我们2024年的选票还可能会在选务处经受一波人工审核(manual Adjudication)。 具体来说，Santa Clara County ROV选务总部的负责人单方面决定, 无论是Vote in person(VIP), 即现场投票，或者是Vote by Mail (VBM)就是邮寄选票，如果是under vote 的选票都要经过人工审核。那么**什么是under vote 呢？举例来说，一个职位或提案你空着没选, 就是under vote。**比如在学区委员的选项中，如果有多个候选人竞选三个职位的话，选票中写的是选择no more than three就是不能超过三人，但是如果你只选其中一位心仪的候选人，空着其他两个选择的话，这样的选票也属于under vote。Under vote是非常正常, 合法的选票，选民的意图非常的明确。特别是在Vote In Person (VIP)现场投票的过程中，如果你的选票中有under vote的情况，在经过扫描机时，扫描机会自动提示，让你确认是不是你有意这么选的，你有机会去确认或者修改。然而对于这些under vote 的选票却在选务总部ROV, 在选民们毫不知情的情况下被挑出来，先搁置，再经过人工审核—-即审核人员审核整个选票从而再次确定选民的意图！ 加州的选举法明确规定under vote 的选票是应被选举系统按选民意愿接受而不被更改的。对于ROV 这种令人难以置信，明显违反选举法规的做法我们强烈反对并坚决曝光。如果您也认为ROV 无权对我们的合法，正常选票进行人工审核，垦请您加入我们一起对Santa Clara County ROV 的这个违规做法说“不！”。 我们反对ROV 对under vote 的选票进行人工审核的主要原因如下： 1.违反加州选举法规。 2.侵犯选民应被保护的选举隐私，以至影响选民对选举完整性的信心。 3.引入不必要的人工干预和出错机率。特别是现场投票己被确认过。 4.显著增加计票时间。 5.浪费纳税人的钱。 选举过程的正义，是美国民主制度的保障，是选民对美国政治制度的信心所在，这高于任何的政治党派和团体的利益，我们硅谷华人协会基金会强烈建议所有圣县的注册选民都行动起来，向圣县的参事质疑SCCROV的做法， 督促Santa Clara County ROV做正确的事：停止对Under Vote进行人工干预！ 请在我们准备好的抗议书上上签名。强烈要求SCCROV尽快改变做法，停止对under vote 的选票进行人工审核 如果您是Santa Clara县的注册选民，请点击链接https://tinyurl.com/2vpe88ym进行签名。希望所有关心加州选举系统公平、公正、完整，透明的朋友们加入我们，献计献策，出力参与，力促这件事情的成功！ 以下是签名过程的具体图示： 步骤1: 点击 https://tinyurl.com/2vpe88ym 步骤2: 点击 “Continue” 按钮开始签名过程： ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sep 22, 2023 Are You OK with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Second Guessing Your Vote? For the last four years, Group of Santa Clara County Citizens been Citizen Observers of the Ballot Processing and Vote Tabulation Processes at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters (SCCROV). They have discovered during our observations that the SCCROV unilaterally has made the executive decision to suspend and manually **“Adjudicate and Determine the Voter’s Intent” **for Under-Votes on all Voters’ Mail-In and Vote-in-Person Ballots. ...

（请注意，此签名信已经失效！请用最新版本） 大家好！美国2022年至关重要的中期选举基本尘埃落定了，由于邮寄选票众多，很多我们关心的选举结果是在选举日过去好多天才最终出炉。聚焦到我们Santa Clara County，选举日过去了十几天才有结果，大量的邮寄选票在ROV（Registrar of voters)，即选务总部被处理，数算。 然而我们绝大多数选民不知道的是，我们的选票有可能正在选举总部被人工审核(manual Adjudication)。具体来说，Santa Clara County ROV选务总部的负责人单方面决定, 无论是Vote in person(VIP), 即现场投票，或者是Vote by Mail (VBM)就是邮寄选票，如果是under vote 的选票都要经过人工审核。**什么是under vote 呢？举例来说，一个职位或提案你空着没选, 就是under vote。**比如在学区委员的选项中，如果有多个候选人竞选三个职位的话，选票中写的是选择no more than three就是不能超过三人，但是如果你只选其中一位心仪的候选人，空着其他两个选择的话，这样的选票也属于under vote。Under vote是非常正常, 合法的选票，选民的意图非常的明确。特别是在Vote In Person (VIP)现场投票的过程中，如果你的选票中有under vote的情况，在经过扫描机时，扫描机会自动提示，让你确认是不是你有意这么选的，你有机会去确认或者修改。然而对于这些under vote 的选票却在选务总部ROV, 在选民们毫不知情的情况下被挑出来，先搁置，再经过人工审核—-即审核人员审核整个选票从而再次确定选民的意图！ 加州的选举法明确规定under vote 的选票是应被选举系统按选民意愿接受而不被更改的。对于ROV 这种令人难以置信，明显违反选举法规的做法，我们在经过多人,多次观察，取证，书面核实后，对ROV 正式发函提出要求，敦请ROV 负责人改变做法，立即停止对under vote 选票进行人工审核。信函于2022年10月24日用验证邮件certified mail方式寄到ROV。ROV 在10月31日给我们的回复中对undervote 的选票执行人工审核的做法没有提出任何法律、法规的依据却无意改变此操作。对于这次中期选举的under vote 的选票，无论是现场投票VIP, 还是邮寄选票VBM, 都会在ROV 被人工审核, 即manually adjudicated。 如果您也认为ROV 无权对我们的合法，正常选票进行人工审核，垦请您加入我们一起对Santa Clara County ROV 的这个违规做法说“不！”。 我们反对ROV 对under vote 的选票进行人工审核的主要原因如下： 1.违反加州选举法规。 2.侵犯选民应被保护的选举隐私，以至影响选民对选举完整性的信心。 3.引入不必要的人工干预和出错机率。特别是现场投票己被确认过。 4.显著增加计票时间。 5.浪费纳税人的钱。 ...