18- to 27-year-olds, also known as Gen Z, are under the spotlight this election year. Many have grown up in a highly politicized environment and will be voting for the very first time.
Abelina Sanchez, a freshman at Central Michigan University, is one of these voters. She says she’s thrilled to be voting for the first time, for a candidate she is excited for.
“It’s my first time actually contributing to politics, rather than just advocating on social media, so actually being a part of this, I’m excited to do that,” she said.
According to Sanchez, reproductive rights are her top priority when it comes to a candidate.
“That was unfortunately taken away from us under Trump, but I believe that Kamala can help us bring that back,” she said.
Sanchez plans on traveling home to cast her first ballot, alongside her mother and grandmother.
Jordis Mosher is also a freshman at CMU and a first-time voter. As an environmental science major, climate change and sustainability are her top issues this election.
But Mosher also said she’s scared- with such a close election and a divided country, she says it could lead to violence.
“I would believe that after the election there's probably going to be a lot of back lash on the younger generations because maybe some of the older conservative voters, they won't get their choice so then the backlash for all these new voters is maybe they shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they chose the wrong person.”
Both Mosher and Sanchez say they expect a high increase in youth voter turnout this year.
