\u201cWe are combining political education and the Halloween spirit because, you know, elections are scary sometimes,\u201d said Kelliana Lim, Communications Coordinator for Khmer Girls in Action<\/a>. KGA, a youth-led community nonprofit in Long Beach, has hosted a haunted house\/maze event every election season since 2010.<\/p>\n Student members and KGA staffers select ballot measures they feel affect their community the most and create an immersive haunted house based on those issues. The goal, Lim said, is to provide a fun way for community members to better understand what is going on this election season.<\/p>\n \u201cThe haunted maze really showcases a really fun \u2018educ-tainment\u2019 type of event for the community to understand how certain ballot measures will impact them and young people,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n This year, KGA honed their haunted house on three ballot measures: Proposition 3<\/a>, which would tax top earners in the state to fund healthcare and education. Proposition 39<\/a>, which would require California voters to present government-issued identification when voting at the polls. And Proposition 43<\/a>, which would change the state\u2019s constitution to require local ballot measures related to extending, increasing or proposing specific taxes driven by citizens to receive a two-thirds vote.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s haunted house will feature a spooky maze of rooms visitors will trek through as they are greeted by ghosts and goblins who will foreshadow what kind of impact these ballot measures could have on their community.<\/p>\n This year, KGA is partnering with We Are California<\/a>, a coalition of advocacy groups across the state, to host a ballot party during the haunted house. Visitors are encouraged to bring their ballot to the haunt, and on a separate floor from the ghouls and goblins, they can get their questions answered.<\/p>\n Aaron Robertson, a Senior Director of Coalition for Catalyst California<\/a> \u2014 the nonprofit, civil rights organization behind We Are California<\/a>, said their group provides toolkits and other resources to KGA and other groups across the state hosting ballot parties.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the cool things about this campaign is that it is very distributed,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been providing resources and toolkits for about 500 ballot parties across the state.\u201d But Robertson said organizations like KGA really take the lead on what these ballot education events look and feel like. Some groups did a 5K run to the polls; others did dance parties and lucha libre events.<\/p>\n We Are California also provides legal trainers who teach community members to become vote protectors on Election Day. Vote protectors identify any intimidation efforts at polling sites.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a centralized reporting mechanism where we are gathering that information and working with the A.G.\u2019s office to triage a response,\u201d Robertson said. Last week, KGA, along with Long Beach Forward<\/a>, trained community volunteers who signed up to be vote protectors.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people really want to show up for their community and [becoming a vote protector] is a way to do that \u2014 they want to go to places that are most at risk for voter intimidation,\u201d Robertson said.<\/p>\n Beyond ballot education, Saturday\u2019s haunted house will also have a trunk-or-treat in the Youth Movement Education Center parking lot. There will also be face painting, a donut-eating contest, a costume contest, music and a party area in case some people \u201care too scared to go inside,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/haunted-house-2024-resource-tablesjpg-487540-y3t4mu3t-564433-m36pxud9-1024x683-787748-u59osxaj-42190.jpeg\")
Khmer Girls in Action\u2019s haunted house from October 2024. The theme was \u201cA Nightmare on Sixth Street.\u201d Photo courtesy of Khmer Girls in Action.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/haunted-house-facepaintingjpg-878927-80ssyop9-112820-QWMbvDHj-1024x683.jpg\")
As part of the haunted house, Khmer Girls in Action also provides face painting, a donut-eating contest and trunk-or-treat.
Photo courtesy of Khmer Girls in Action.<\/p>\n