Christian Houck, 20, is excited about this year’s presidential election. It’s his first as a voter, and he says it could be an “unprecedented moment in American history.”

Houck is looking forward to casting his ballot for Kamala Harris to become the first woman of Black or Asian descent to become president. While he doesn’t agree with all of Harris’ positions, he says she is “the better candidate to Trump.”

“It’s a pretty monumental election to join in on,” Houck said.

Inspired by the potential to shatter the glass ceiling with the election of Harris, and enraged by issues such as reproductive rights, the economy and the conflict between Palestine and Israel, young voters could make a big difference — if they show up to vote.

This election cycle, initial indications point to a large youth voter turnout.

Maryland has nearly 1 million voters who are younger than 30, making up about 20% of its electorate, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Of those, 300,000 are now eligible to vote in their first presidential election.

In Maryland 64% of eligible youths are registered to vote, according to a study by the University of Maryland College Park. Nationally, data from TargetSmart shows the voter registration rate for young Black women tripled by 175% compared to the last presidential election. The data was taken the day Harris announced her candidacy for president.

The hope for all candidates across the political spectrum is the young people don’t go the way of singer Chappell Roan, of “Hot To Go” fame, who seems to be sitting out the election.

The 26-year-old recently told Rolling Stone: “I’m pretty, ‘F--- the government, and f--- everything that’s going on right now.’ I don’t have a side because I hate both sides, and I’m so embarrassed about everything going on right now.”

A history of not voting

Historically, young people just aren’t as interested in politics as older people, said Mileah Kromer, director of the UMBC Institute of Politics. But, younger voters — particularly white women — could play a key role in swinging the election in favor of Harris by offsetting the majority of older generation of white women, who — with the exceptions of Bill Clinton and Lyndon B. Johnson — have voted for Republicans since 1950.

“It is pivotal if young people turn out to vote in ways where they can offset or counter the vote of older Americans,” Kromer said.

The younger generation is more progressive, and Harris shares their views on reproductive rights and other social issues, Kromer said. And if they turn out this time, the odds are higher they will become habitual voters, she said.

Jé St Sume, 30, calls the youth vote the “biggest sleeping giant of this election,” and said they are more likely to protest and donate money to candidates and causes than vote.

Economic issues and social media could result in youth turning out in larger numbers this cycle, said St Sume, an assistant professor of political science at the University Maryland, Baltimore County.

“They are the first to make less money than previous generations,” St Sume said. “They were in school for 9/11 and they were graduating during the Great Recession. They got more degrees than Generation X, but the jobs were not there for them. They spent time in debt, and then COVID happened. They were set back in the way that other generations weren’t. These aren’t your same young voters. They have serious economic hardships, and they want to say something about it.”

Bea L., who relocated to Maryland from New York City two years ago, is motivated to vote by threats to abortion rights, the need for expanded trans health care access and efforts to ban books . They voted via mail-in ballot for Harris, though begrudgingly because of her stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

But they think Trump would be worse.

“I think that things could go way worse for the people of the Middle East in terms of violence if Donald Trump were to get into power,” they said.

The policy issues surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas could also keep other young voters away from the ballot box, St Sume said.

“They think the United States should not offer weapons without accountability. So much of their attitudes are informed by the fact that they grew up in this war on terror where the United States has had a strong interventionist policy,” St Sume said. “I think that neither candidate is doing well with young voters on this issue because Trump and Harris seem to have a similar message in regards to Israel and Palestine. They believe it is the U.S’s position to continue to support arms to Israel.”

More than a dozen Republicans didn’t return calls asking about how young people are voting.

Catalina Byrd, a third generation Republican from West Baltimore who has run for Baltimore mayor twice, said the party has not done a very good job trying to reach youth this presidential election cycle.

“If they are new voters, they don’t have anything to relate to. They believe the economy was better [under Trump]. They believe immigration was better [under Trump.] They think their jobs are being taken and Big Macs cost more, and they [Democrats] are bringing in immigrants to take their jobs. They don’t do their own research,” Byrd said.

Reasons for optimism

Despite dipping her toes into politics for the first time in 2020, Calondra Young has quickly become immersed in the election process and is now the vice chair of the Prince George’s County Young Democrats. She said young people are voting because they are “fed up.”

“We are actually trying to put a stop to the same repetitive cycles of having the same people controlling and representing us that brush over our issues as talking points,” said the 29-year-old.

Young is excited to make history and help elect Harris — someone who she “admires” for her “vision to unite the country,” and “how she prioritizes the needs of the people” over her party.

Younger voters are also driven by student loan reform, health care, fair wages and jobs for those who don’t want to go to college, said Tia Hopkins, who along with Antonio Bowens became the state’s first openly nonbinary candidates elected to the Democratic Central Committee in 2022. Hopkins is also a past Mid-Atlantic Region Director for Young Democrats of America and national committee representative for Young Democrats of Maryland.

“Young people get married, start families and realize that student loan payments affect how much of a mortgage they qualify for,” Hopkins said. It follows us.”

Nykidra “Nyki” Robinson, founder of Black Girls Vote, a national nonpartisan organization, has educated and registered youths to vote at more than 20 high schools and colleges..

More challenging is getting them to the polls.

It is important for organizations to match the enthusiasm of young people when trying to reach them, Robinson said. She uses DJs and pins and buttons to build excitement.

“It’s one thing to register them, but there must be a concerted effort to mobilize them as well,” she said.

Data reporter Ramsey Archibald contributed to this story.

This story is published as part of the Baltimore News Collaborative, a project exploring the challenges and successes experienced by young people in Baltimore. The collaborative is supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. News members of the collaborative retain full editorial control.