Christian Houck, 20, is excited about this year’s presidential election. It’s his first as a voter, and he says it could be an “unprecedented moment in American history.”

Houck is looking forward to voting for Kamala Harris to become the first woman of Black or Asian descent to become president. Although he doesn’t agree with all of Harris’ positions, he says she is “Trump’s best candidate.”

“It’s a pretty monumental election to be a part of,” Houck said.

Inspired by the possibility of breaking the glass ceiling with the election of Harris, and enraged by issues such as reproductive rights, the economy and the Palestine-Israel conflict, young voters it could make a big difference – if they show up to vote.

This election cycle, early indications point to strong youth voter turnout.

Maryland has nearly 1 million voters under the age of 30, representing about 20 percent of its electorate, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Of these, 300,000 are now eligible to vote in their first presidential election.

In Maryland, 64% of eligible youth are registered to voteaccording to a study from the University of Maryland College Park. Nationally, data from SmartTarget shows that the registration rate of young black women on the electoral lists has tripled 175% compared to the last presidential election. The data was taken the day Harris announced her candidacy for president.

The hope of all candidates, whatever their political spectrum, is that young people do not follow the path of singer Chappell Roan, of “Hot To Go” fame, who seems absent from the elections.

The 26-year-old recently told Rolling Stone: “I’m pretty, ‘F— the government and f— everything that’s going on right now.’ I don’t have a side because I hate both sides, and I’m so embarrassed by everything that’s happening right now.

A story of non-voting

Historically, young people simply aren’t as interested in politics as older people, said Mileah Kromer, director of the UMBC Institute of Politics. But younger voters – particularly white women – could play a key role in swinging the election in Harris’ favor by counterbalancing the majority of older generations of white women, who – with the exception of Bill Clinton and Lyndon B . Johnson – have voted Republican since 1950.

“It’s critical that young people vote in a way that they can offset or counteract the vote of older Americans,” Kromer said.

The younger generation is more progressive and Harris shares their views on reproductive rights and other social issues, Kromer said. And if they mobilize this time, there’s a good chance they’ll become habitual voters, she said.

I St Sume30, calls the youth vote “the biggest sleeping giant of this election” and says they are more likely to protest and donate money to candidates and causes than to vote.

Economic problems and social media could encourage young people to participate in greater numbers this cycle, said St Sume, assistant professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

“They are the first to earn less money than previous generations,” St Sume said. “They were in school on 9/11 and graduating during the Great Recession. They earned more degrees than Generation X, but the jobs weren’t there for them. They spent some time in debt, then COVID hit. They were set back in a way that other generations were not. These are not your same young voters. They are experiencing serious economic difficulties and want to talk about it.

Bea L., who moved to Maryland from New York two years ago, is motivated to vote by threats to abortion rights, the need to expand access to trans health care, and efforts to ban books. They voted by mail for Harris, albeit reluctantly because of her stance on the war between Israel and Hamas.

But they think Trump would be worse.

“I think things could be much worse for the people of the Middle East in terms of violence if Donald Trump came to power,” they said.

Political issues surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas could also keep other young voters away from the polls, St Sume said.

“They believe the United States should not offer weapons without accountability. A lot of their attitudes are influenced by the fact that they grew up in this war on terror where the United States had a strong interventionist policy,” St Sume said. “I think neither candidate is doing well with young voters on this issue, because Trump and Harris seem to have a similar message regarding Israel and Palestine. They believe that the position of the United States is to continue supplying weapons to Israel.

More than a dozen Republicans did not respond to calls asking how young people were voting.

Catalina Byrd, a third-generation Republican from West Baltimore who twice ran for Baltimore mayor, said the party hasn’t done a very good job trying to reach young people this cycle presidential election.

“If they are new voters, they have nothing to identify with. They think the economy was better (under Trump). They think immigration was better (under Trump). They think their jobs are being lost and Big Macs are costing more, and they (Democrats) are bringing in immigrants to take their jobs. They don’t do their own research,” Byrd said.

Reasons to be optimistic

Although she first entered politics in 2021, Colandra Young quickly immersed herself in the electoral process and is now the vice president of the Young Democrats of Prince George’s County. She said young people are voting because they are “fed up.”

“We’re actually trying to stop the same repetitive cycles where the same people are controlling us and representing us and making our issues as talking points,” the 29-year-old said.

Young is excited to make history and help elect Harris — someone she “admires” for her “vision to unite the country” and “the way she puts the needs of the people first » in relation to his party.

Younger voters are also motivated by student loan reform, health care, fair wages and jobs for those who don’t want to go to collegee, said Tia Hopkins, who with Antonio Bowens became the state’s first openly non-binary candidates elected to the Democratic Central Committee in 2022. Hopkins is also a former Mid-Atlantic regional director for the Young Democrats of America and a Young Democrats national committee representative from Maryland.

“Young people are getting married, starting families and finding that student loan payments affect the mortgage amount they qualify for,” Hopkins said. It follows us.

Nykidra “Nyki” Robinson, founder of Black Girls Votea national, nonpartisan organization, has educated and registered young people to vote in more than 20 high schools and colleges.

The hardest part is getting them to the polls.

It’s important that organizations match young people’s enthusiasm when trying to reach them, Robinson said. She uses DJs, pins and buttons to generate excitement.

“It’s one thing to register them, but it also takes a concerted effort to mobilize them,” she said.

Data journalist Ramsey Archibald contributed to this story.

This article is published as part of the Baltimore News Collaborative, a project exploring the challenges and successes faced by Baltimore’s youth. The collaborative is supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Members of the press group retain full editorial control.