Right now, eyes are on young voters — the generation shaping up to have a major impact on yet another hotly contested presidential election. Yet, many of them are not particularly eager or excited to turn out to the polls in November – even though almost every young voter whom Atlanta Civic Circle talked to recently said they plan to vote.
With the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, then President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee, young voters said it’s been challenging to stay current on what’s happening. They are particularly drawn to high stakes issues like abortion, climate change, the economy and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Here’s what nine college students and a YouTuber had to say on how they’re feeling about voting, whether they think their vote matters, what’s at stake for them – and their thoughts on the future of it all.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Adelisa Dedobic
- Freshman, aerospace engineering major at Georgia Tech
- Age: 18
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Harris
On her plans to vote: I was gonna, not that I wanted to, but just to do it. But then when Biden dropped out, I was like, yeah, I guess I should. It secured it more. … [Harris] doesn’t have dementia — the stuff she says makes sense a little more, not that much, because I know her coconut tree TikTok. I think she’s good on most aspects, better than the other side.
Christina Jordan
- Freshman, chemical engineering major at Georgia Tech
- Age: 16
- Plan to vote? Not old enough yet
On the future of voting: I think it will be more prevalent among my generation, at least. My vote matters because we’ve seen all of these things happen. And it’s like, ‘This is crazy. We should be able to make a change.‘
I don’t think that the way we run elections will probably be the same by the time I’m the age of my parents. But, I think it will be a new good refresh that gets us out of the just continuous cycle that we’ve been in, that I don’t think is sustainable at all because it’s pitting a lot of people against each other.
Diya Chutani
- Junior, neuroscience major at Georgia Tech
- Age: 20
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Likely Harris
On how she feels about the upcoming election: Kind of scared, for the most part. To me right now, there are not good options. It also just feels really crazy and hectic, because a lot of things are happening that are like, this is the first time this kind of situation has happened. … It’s weird to be witnessing all of this. So it’s just a little – a feeling of uneasiness.
I think my vote matters. I was talking to my friend recently about this, and I was saying it does feel like, in this election, that young people really, really matter and can make a big difference, especially now. Before [Harris], it was feeling even more hopeless. But now I don’t know what’s gonna happen. Every group matters, but young people especially could make a big difference this year.
Gabriel Howard
- Freshman, biochemistry major at Georgia Tech
- Age: 18
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Did not want to share
On whether he thinks his vote matters: I believe that my vote matters, because if everybody thought that their vote didn’t matter, nobody would vote. And then it’d only be the one person that matters — so, I’m gonna be that person.
Jay Ayala
- YouTuber
- Age: 18
- Plan to vote? No
On whether he plans to vote: Honestly, probably not. I don’t really care about stuff like that. I mean, if you have a good president it does make it better. But I mean, Joe Biden, he’s shit. Trump, he was better, but I’m not really into that type of stuff. I don’t like old presidents really. I think we should have somebody young.
I probably won’t ever vote. … Even if you vote or you think your president is good, I feel like the government is just messed up in all types of ways. They’re doing stuff behind everybody’s back [that] nobody knows about.
Kenneth Brinson
- Senior, biology major at Georgia State University
- Age: 21
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Harris
On why he plans to vote: I didn’t exactly believe in Joe Biden, but I would have still voted [for him], because healthcare is a big issue for me in my field. … When Trump went into office, a substantial amount of Black people went without care, and that’s one reason I want to vote. … I’m not exactly excited, but I think Harris could bring some good things to the table.
I’m kind of concerned about the turnout this year. I feel like it’s not gonna be that great. But I feel like people should know that their vote counts. I hope that they get out there.
Leena Khan
- Junior, biology major at Georgia Tech
- Age: 20
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Initially Biden, leans Harris now
On how she feels about the upcoming election: I feel a little bit more hopeful, like there’s a little bit more of a chance of the Democrats winning. Before Biden had stepped down, it was kind of like, well, we kind of know what’s going to happen. And now I feel like it’s a little bit more of a toss up. Some people would disagree. But I think that hope is pretty cool.
I’m a little grain of rice. And, I think even one grain of rice can make a difference. Of course, in these national elections, it’s easy to feel helpless, like ‘Oh, what difference can I make?’ But, especially in local elections, you could be the difference between the candidate winning or losing, and I feel like you can choose to use that same rhetoric for national elections as well.
Go vote, especially for your local elections because, even if Trump wins, you still have the capability to create positive change and choose your candidates in your community.
Nayeli Cruz
- Freshman, computer science major at Georgia State University
- Age: 18
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Harris
On how she feels about voting: I feel like if you’re not voting this year especially, you’re pretty much a part of the problem … I was a bit hesitant until I saw that possibly Kamala Harris is up for the ballot. So that I’m very excited to see. Though, from what I’ve seen, she hasn’t supported anything for Gaza. She does support a lot of what I [believe], and I feel like anything’s better than another white man.
Georgia is a swing state. When people don’t vote in swing states, it highly matters, especially when it comes to elections like these where the stakes are pretty high. I remember back in 2020 when Georgia went blue, everyone was so hyped about it. And I’m just like, people should vote, honestly.
Varshini Kakarla
- Senior, psychology and pre-med major at Georgia State University
- Age: 21
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Looking into independent candidates, leans Democratic
On voting in November: I’ve been very hesitant on how the government has been handling things. … I’ve had conversations with my friends about ‘What is the environment going to look like? What is women’s rights going to look like? What is childcare going to look like?’
The hesitation was before Biden dropped out, but after he dropped out I do feel like a new sort of hesitation as well. What it is right now — is that the best thing for our country? It’s just been like hesitation on top of hesitation, if I’m gonna be honest.
William Murphy
- Graduate student, microbiology at Kennesaw State University
- Age: 24
- Plan to vote? Yes
- Who for? Likely Harris
On voting in November: Just having a new candidate is gonna be interesting. Yeah, it definitely felt kind of boring and just annoying to see the same couple of people up there. So I’m definitely looking forward to it.
