In Georgia, parties appeal to young voters

One day last week, two politically unimportant people visited two universities in Georgia with the same goal: to encourage students to register and vote in next month's elections.

Morning Visit of US Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Highly Appreciated by Progressives, at Clayton State University, and Donald Trump Jr., President of the Republican President's Evening Visit to the University of Georgia, Witness Aggressive Efforts both parties make to get every vote in what should be a closely contested competition for congressional control.

Former 31-year-old Democratic congressional candidate Jon Ossoff, a former statesman of the Young Voters Movement, called on students for his party's governor, Stacey Abrams, who reportedly could be launched by a supporter of Republican candidate Brian Kemp.

"Young people will make a difference in this election," he said. "And if young people do not vote, if our classmates, our neighbors, our parents and our friends do not go to the polls, if we do not make this effort collectively, we will end up with representation that does not care about we. And they will have no reason to worry about us because they will know we will not vote. "

Some efforts, however, to engage students have turned aside. An associate professor from Clayton State apologized after offering additional credit to students for attending the Warren event where Abrams spoke. US Senator David Perdue, R-Ga., Was recorded briefly seizing a smartphone from a Georgia Tech student on Saturday after an argument with students. Perdue, a Georgia Tech alumnus, was partly involved in a football game to revive Kemp and Geoff Duncan's campaigns in the governor's and lieutenant governor's races, respectively.

Kemp, a graduate of the UGA, also campaigned at Georgia Bulldogs games, addressing young Republican groups.

Traditionally, voters aged 18 to 29 are the least likely age group to vote in any election, especially mid-term elections, but unprecedented work is underway to increase the voter turnout rate. participation. In addition to visiting Trump Jr. and Warren, celebrities such as singers John Legend and Janelle Monae have been visiting Atlanta's metropolitan campuses in recent weeks.

Alexa Tomaras, 19, a freshman student at UGA, said that celebrity tours and their engagement had helped attract more students.

"I just think it's really exciting that people get excited about politics," said Tomaras. "It's really interesting to see people of my age get excited, pick a party and think about things rather than move to a category based on one aspect of a political party."

State data show that younger voters are gradually becoming a larger segment of the Georgian electorate. About 1.3 million registered voters – 19% of all voters – in Georgia are under 29, according to an analysis of state data by Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2016, about 18% of registered voters in Georgia were under 29, according to AJJ analysis.

The participation rate in 2016 of young voters nationwide was slightly above 40%, which is significantly lower than the overall average of about 61%, according to US Census Bureau data. Young voters are generally fewer in the mid-term elections. The participation rate was below 20% in 2014 and has not exceeded 25% since groups such as the US Election Project began tracking these data in 1986.

Kerwin Swint, a professor of political science at Kennesaw State University, said most young people do not vote because many have never encountered institutions or lawsuits involving them.

"It's notoriously difficult for young voters to figure out where to vote or who to vote for," said Swint, Acting Dean of the KSU College of the Humanities.

Several polls have revealed that the numbers could be higher this year than in recent years; about 30% of young voters say they will vote in November. At the national level, young people have been at the forefront of several important political issues in recent years, such as armed violence in schools, speech restriction complaints on some campuses and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Swint attributes much of Georgia's interest to the potentially historic appeal of Abrams. If elected, she will be the first female African American governor of the country.

Monae, 32, referred to the local "Black Girl Magic", an apparent reference to Abrams, in her remarks to several hundred enthusiastic students at the Atlanta University Center, which includes several colleges and universities historically black.

The long queues of students waiting at student events at Clayton State and UGA suggest to some that the numbers could increase this year.

At Clayton State, the event was reserved for standing.

Sierra Glenn, 21, a sociology student at Clayton State, plans to vote for Abrams but attended the rally to learn more about it.

"I wanted to come here and make sure I'm sure and that's the person I wanted to vote for," she said. "Even though I will not vote for the other guy, I wanted to be sure."

Sasha Benefield, 20, a major in political science from Clayton State who describes herself as a centrist, believes that social media has made young people more politically engaged and astute, up to a point. She noticed a lot of inaccurate clickbait on her social media feeds.

Several students said that President Donald Trump and his politics are responsible for the participation of more of their friends in politics.

At the event organized by the UGA students, the energy was intense. At the time of questions, the waiting line followed the steps of the auditorium.

Logan Waldrop, a 19-year-old junior at UGA and a Kemp supporter, said there was a lot of talk on campus as election day approached. The campus is politically divided. The North Campus is more progressive than the South Campus is more conservative. He finds it fascinating.

"People said it and I did not believe it at first," he said. "There have been some demonstrations at the North Campus, but if you go to the South Campus, you will not see it. It's actually pretty interesting.

Jennifer Peebles, Data Specialist for AJC, contributed to this article.