Turnout among young voters key to Georgia Senate runoffs
ATLANTA— PreethiGowrishankarwas never really politically active before this year. But watching polarization increase during President Donald Trump’s administration changed that.
The 27-year-old data scientist put on a face mask and stood in line on a recent sunny but cold day inAtlanta to cast a ballot early forDemocratsJonOssoffandRaphael Warnock ahead of Georgia’s Jan. 5 runoff elections that will determine control of the U.S. Senate.
“We’ve seen in the last four years what apathy leads to andwhere it can get us,” she said. “So I’ve tried tomakean effort to become a lot more informed ofmy choices and to make my voice heard.”
Strong turnoutamongvoters under 30 nationwide helped propel Democrat Joe Biden to victory over Trump in theNovemberpresidential election. Young voterswere key to Biden’s narrow win in Georgia, with a margin of just under 12,000 votes.
Now, with the national spotlight on Georgia’s Senate races, the campaigns and voter mobilization groups are working furiously to make sure young voters turn out for the runoffs, which pit Ossoff andWarnock against Republican Sens. David Perdue andKelly Loeffler. Awin by either Republicanwould maintain the Senate majority for the GOP, while a sweep by both Democrats would yield of 50-50 split in the chamber, with the tie-breaking vote going to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The push to connectwith young voters has been especially apparent for the Democratic campaigns, which havemoretogain fromyouth turnout — and more to lose
if there’s a drop-off.
Ossoff andWarnock have held rallies in college towns, invested in staff to help register and mobilize young voters, engaged social media influencers to promote contentandrunadcampaignson new media and digital platforms. Theyrecentlyhosteda gamenightonTwitch, a livestreaming platform popular with young gamers. Ossoff also hasmade a push to connect with voters through TikTok, a video sharingappused by millions of U.S. teens.
Perdue’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, and Loeffler’s campaign directedquestions to Abigail Sigler, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party. Sigler did not answer a specific question asking how the campaigns are reaching out to young voters but sent a statement attacking Ossoff and Warnock and asserting that policies backed by Perdue and Loeffler are better for young voters.
In Georgia, people under 30castabout16% of the votes in the November election, compared with 13% nationwide, according to AP VoteCast. About 6 in 10 voters under 30 in Georgia backed Biden over Trump. But like
voters overall, youngers voters split starkly by race and ethnicity. Young non-white voters backed Biden overwhelmingly, with roughly 8 in 10 supporting Democrats. Among young white voters, Trump was favored by about two to one.
Nse Ufot is the executive director of the NewGeorgia Project, a nonpartisan group founded by former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams.
“From registration, to actually turning out to vote, to volunteering, we’ve absolutely witnessed and been a part in the increase in youth participation in our elections,” Ufot said.
Thegroupregistered thousands of young voters during nationwide protests against racial inequality this year, launched an intensive effort to combat misinformation about voting on social media and have leaned into virtual events and virtual mobilization efforts.
Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of CIRCLE at Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, said youth voting turnout is being affected by both external investment and peer-to-peer political engagement among young people.