Young voters urge Kamala Harris not to take them for granted

By Nadra Nittle for The 19th

In November, Adah Crandall plans to vote in her first presidential election. There’s no question which candidate she’s supporting: Vice President Kamala Harris.  

Crandall, an 18-year-old organizer with the Sunrise Movement, which is made up of young climate activists, said the choice is clear. “I would rather organize under Harris than under a man that … fundamentally doesn't believe the climate crisis is real.”

Former President Donald Trump has labeled climate change a “hoax,” and his administration rolled back climate protections, while Harris’ decisive vote for the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allowed the United States to make unprecedented environmental investments. As a senator, she co-sponsored the Green New Deal’s call for a clean energy transition.

Climate change — along with gun violence, immigration reform, Israel’s war in Gaza and reproductive rights — are among young voters' top concerns. They’re demanding that candidates heed their political interests as they emerge as an influential voting bloc. A record 50 percent of 18-to-29-year-old voters turned out for the 2020 election, backing Biden more than any other age bracket. Two years later, young voters thwarted a potential red wave, helping Democrats pick up another Senate seat. This fall, they’re expected to represent over a fifth of the electorate.

By 2028, people under 40 will constitute a voter majority, according to Erin Heys, policy director and senior researcher for the Berkeley Institute for Young Americans, a research center at the University of California, Berkeley.