With the midterms looming, young Georgia voters weigh a tense political moment

October 31st, 2022

A group of University of Georgia undergrads gather on campus in Athens on September 30, 2022. (Sam Gringlas/WABE)

Young voters ages 18 to 29 make up 17% of Georgia’s electorate. They’ve also participated in recent elections at higher rates than young voters nationwide, so they could play an important role in determining the outcome of this year’s midterms.

Some of the nation’s biggest challenges, like climate change and threats to democracy, will end up in the laps of today’s young voters. Before Election Day, I drove to the University of Georgia’s leafy campus in Athens to meet a handful of undergrads studying politics.

We didn’t talk much about Republican Gov. Brian Kemp or Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Instead, we spent some time talking about this moment — and how this group is thinking about their future and the country’s.

“Sometimes I want to hide in the woods and be oblivious,” says senior Claire Kimberlin. “And other times I want to go straight to D.C. and do what I can to make a difference.”

Polls show a majority of young people think the country is on the wrong track, but they also report large shares of young people say they intend to vote in the midterms.

Junior Fatime Niane says she has lots of friends who have felt whiplash from the triumph of electing Democrats last election, only to find the same problems have persisted or even gotten worse, like the rollback of abortion rights.

“A lot of them are feeling very pessimistic about how the state of our government looks right now,” she says. “Yes, we turned Georgia blue. Now they’re saying barely anything has changed.”

Listen to the full conversation by clicking the play button above.

Thanks to University of Georgia students Braden Burns, Kelley Downes, Katherine Gates, Claire Kimberlin, Cale Ledford, Fatime Niane, Brock Schultz and Heather Xiong and to professors Audrey Haynes and Michael Lynch.