By Victoria Fletcher with SGJC Student News Network
The number of first-time voters is at a record high running up to the 2024 election. First-time voters have skyrocketed over the past four years. According to Vote.org, voters under 35 made up 81% of registrations on National Voter Registration Day this year, with the largest spike among 18-year-olds. The percentage of young voters has increased to 11% which is a 53% increase from National Voter Registration Day in 2020.
First time voters, meanwhile, do not know what to expect on election day. Many are worried about choosing the right candidate. Denver Obermeyer, a Morgan State University freshman, is voting for the first time this year. Obermeyer said, “I think this election might be the most powerful election of this century as both candidates are exceptionally different.” Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are going head-to-head. “I have mixed feelings about voting for the first time. It’s like I’m nervous and excited because I don’t want to make the wrong choice in an election like this,” said Obermeyer.
For many students, it’s their first time voting in a presidential election. Campaigns and election efforts this year are targeting the younger generation and first-time voters. According to recent polls, Vice President Harris is a favorite choice among younger voters. A new poll showed that young voters ultimately could be the deciding factor in this presidential election. For many first-time voters, they said they were excited to vote in an historical election for change, and a better democracy.
Jordynn Blackwell, a sophomore Multimedia Journalism student at Morgan State University, said, “I’m most excited about voting for potentially the first female president of color in this country’s history.”
For these first-time voters, the hope is that the right candidate will win. They said they wanted to see the best candidate lead America in the right direction.
Kimora Wong Sing, a 20-year-old student, said, “I’m hoping that for this term there’s some real change. Usually, presidential candidates tell people what they want to hear to secure a win. I’m hoping that I can trust who I’m voting for, and they can deliver the betterment they’re promising.”
First- time voters have an important role in presidential elections. Gen Z has been a force to be reckoned with, from social movements to higher voting registrations than ever before, young voters are a highly diverse group. According to the Center for Information on Civic Learning and Engagement, “About 45% of the 40 million Gen Zs who will be eligible to vote in 2024 are young people of color, including 8.8 million Latinos, 5.7 million Black youth, 1.7 million Asian Americans, and 1.8 million multiracial youth. Among the newly eligible voters since 2022 (those ages 18-19 in 2024), young people of color make up an even higher 47% share.” This diverse voter group could help reshape the electorate and build a more representative democracy. As first-time voters nervously prepare to vote in the 2024 presidential election, they hope for change and a representative democracy.