By TAYLOR NICHOLS
Capital News Service
The months since Kamala Harris announced her candidacy have been filled with viral social media moments. Since her campaign began in July, it was as if a spigot turned on, and the internet was awash in memes and TikTok videos about her, often created by and for young people.
But is that enthusiasm translating to more engagement on the ground from young voters?
That spike, in part, was due to a swell of voters under 30. Three of the best weeks for young voter registration in Maryland this year happened post-Kamala – nearly 11,000 voters under 30 registered in the weeks after her July 21 announcement.
Maryland voter registration data shows July, the month Harris announced her campaign, was the strongest month for voter registration this year, according to an analysis by Capital News Service.
The biggest jump in young voter registrations was seen in Baltimore City, with a 63 percent increase in registrations for people under 30 in the weeks after Biden dropped out.
Most counties saw a roughly 20-25 percent increase in registrations in the month after Harris announced her candidacy. Montgomery County saw a 40 percent jump and Worcester County saw a 32 percent increase.
“Younger people are excited about having a new candidate in Kamala Harris,” said Montgomery County resident Sean Quiroga, 22, who recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s in government and politics. “We need to have a new voice.”
Quiroga said that he initially was nervous about the chaos it could cause if Biden dropped out. Now, he’s reassured by the support she’s garnered.
“She’s able to get out the message in a way that Joe Biden, I think, had difficulty doing,” he said.
Voter registrations began to trend upwards after a lull in May, just after the deadline for registering to vote in this year’s primary election.
Registrations for voters from every age group increased in July, including for future voters under 18 years old who are able to pre-register in the state of Maryland, which many young people do when they get their driver’s license.
Young Democrats of Maryland, and local chapters of the organization throughout the state, say they’re seeing a swell of energy from young voters looking to get involved after the Harris campaign announced her candidacy.
When the election was between President Biden and former President Trump, it was hard to drum up enthusiasm for more of the status quo, Frederick County Young Democrats President Violet Williams said.
But having a younger woman of color – Harris is 59 years old, Black and Indian – running a historic campaign has brought new energy to the election, especially for young women, Williams said.
“We’ve been seeing a trend where a lot of young people feel like they’re not being represented, they’re not being talked to, and they’re not having the same say that they feel that older voters are having,” Williams said.
Frederick County, which was won by Biden in 2020 after decades of voting Republican, saw a 23 percent increase in registrations for voters under 30 in the four weeks following Harris’ July 21 announcement.
Rachel Janfaza, a journalist who covers young voters and politics on her website The Up and Up, agrees. She said young voters are excited to see someone who looks and sounds more like them running for president.
“The history of what her candidacy represents is really important, and I think a lot of young people are feeling excited by that,” Janfaza said. “She represents a new generation of leadership.”
Janfaza said that for many young adults, who have really only seen the last two elections play out, it’s the first time they feel they can vote for a candidate they’re excited about.
While the Harris campaign has galvanized young voters to get involved, it may take more than a Taylor Swift endorsement to sway young voters to go for Harris. Janfaza said young adults are still waiting to hear what her policies are and how they will differ from Biden’s.
“Young people are really looking for values over virality,” Janfaza said. “They want to hear her speak about the issues that matter to them.”
Abortion, gun violence and climate change are three hot button issues for young voters, but research from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, at Tufts University, shows the top issue for young people is the economy.
Inflation, the cost of living and jobs that pay a living wage are all primary concerns for young voters, said CIRCLE researcher Ruby Belle Booth.
“I think that a lot of young people are ready to see things get done and they want a plan that's going to show success and clear achievements on the issues that matter to them, because they’ve seen so many things get held back by hyper partisanship,” Booth said. “Young people are just ready for action on these things.”
Emily Condon helped with reporting for this story.
