By james art 
University of Alabama at Birmingham student Charlie Pomeranc had a few things to consider when he cast his first presidential ballot. They ranged from the candidates for the seat themselves to her own family.
“I’m registered to vote mainly because I don’t like Donald Trump,” Pomerenk said while speaking to WBHM last week. “I know my grandparents vote Republican, so on top of that, I just want to overturn their vote if I can.”
A Tufts University study found that 2020 saw the highest youth voter turnout since the voting age was lowered to 18. It also estimates that eight million new voters are eligible to vote this year. The question remains how first-time voters in the Birmingham area feel about this election.
WBHM spoke with about a dozen students, who generally agreed they signed up because they believe it’s important to exercise their civic duty.
“Being a black woman in the community and being able to use my voice is very important,” Olivia Walker said.
But everyone had their reasons.
“I intend to vote as soon as possible on November 5th,” Brandon Amaya Ortiz said. “And I don’t want to forget about it.”
“My mom made me,” Mykayla McClam said with a smile. She added that voting was a privilege and she registered after turning eighteen. She agreed with her classmate Dylan Douglas that they had an opportunity to have a say in who would run the country for the next four years.
“I just feel like our voice matters,” Douglas said.
Although Alabama is not a swing state, these students represent a new generation whose voices have yet to be heard in the political world. And this demographic of voters has already proven they can make an impact.
An NBC poll found that 65 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Biden won that election. It came shortly after a New York Times op-ed lamented the lack of young voters in the 2016 election.
The Tufts study found that most states are seeing fewer young people registered to vote this year than in 2020. But Annie Kelly, director of the Samford University chapter of the League of Women Voters, has seen plenty. She felt sympathy for this year’s incoming freshmen.
“It can be hard being in school the first year,” Kelly said. “And then it’s an election year. And you’re trying to figure out how to navigate as a person.
The Stamford University chapter of the League of Women Voters is trying to help new voters get informed about the election. But Kelly said they also focus on brokering unity through debates and speakers from both sides of the political aisle.
“We are all one nation, one people,” Kelly said. “And yes, we have our differences. But at the end of the day, I believe everyone across the political spectrum wants to do what’s best for America. They do it differently, they have different approaches, but at the end of the day, that’s what everyone wants.
Kelly says from what she’s seen, her generation is moving away from polarized politics and trying to find common ground.
“We’re going to be the ones taking politics into the next generation,” Kelly said. “We are the ones taking up that mantle now.”