COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Young voters are expected to play a decisive role in the upcoming election, with key issues like abortion, healthcare, and student debt driving their participation.
- The last two presidential elections saw historically high turnout among young voters, and experts predict similar engagement this year
- The small margins in recent elections mean that young voters could be critical in deciding the outcome, especially in swing states
- Vice President Kamala Harris has energized young women, with polls showing a significant gap in support between young women and young men
Broadcast Script:
Young voters are poised to play a pivotal role in this election, with their influence growing in recent years.
“Policy is going to increasingly reflect what young people want,” says Dr. Kirby Goidel, a political science professor at Texas A&M University.
Dr. Goidel says the last two presidential elections saw historically high turnout among young voters — a trend expected to continue this year.
The new excitement Vice President Kamala Harris brings out among young voters, could mean they determine the November election.
"This is the ‘Everything, everywhere, all at once' election — the margins in swing states are so small that everything matters," Dr. Goidel explained, likening it to the size of a crowd at a Texas A&M football game.
"In 2016 and 2020, if you took Kyle Field and you could move the number of people who show up for a Saturday night football game and you could move them to separate states, you could have swung the election in favor of Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Donald Trump in 2020. — te margins in some of these swing states are so small that everything matters.”
So if young voters can determine the election, what are the issues that matter most to them?
"Health care, in particular women's right to abortion, common sense, gun laws, climate change,” says Jackson Farris, a student at Texas A&M University.
Nia Nickens, another Aggie graduate student, says her main issues are “abortion, voting rights, and also student debt relief.”
Dr. Goidel pointed out that while young voters tend to lean left, there is a notable difference in support for Vice President Kamala Harris between young men and women.
Harris holds a 47-point lead among young women compared to a 17-point lead among young men.
“If you’re watching politics right now and wondering where the country is headed, this gap between young men and young women is one of the most fascinating trends,” Dr. Goibel said.
