Savannah State students start voting push on eve of Harris-Walz rally

On the eve of Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Savannah, students at the state’s oldest historic Black university launched a voter registration campaign. It’s a sign of Coastal Georgia’s enthusiasm about the possibility of electing the first Black woman to the White House.

The voter event at the Savannah State University library sparked wide-ranging discussions among students about what policies motivate them to vote, whether Harris is the right candidate to focus on their problems, and whether voting matters in Georgia.

Interviews by The Current with 16 undergraduate students reveal a serious organizational effort to ensure a strong turnout among young voters of color, a key constituency that could decide the November presidential election in the Peach State. As well as a desire to instill the civic duty of voting for a generation sometimes dismissed as apathetic about politics.

Jennifer West, Technical Services Librarian at Savannah State University and voter registration event organizer, told The Current that hosting “plan your vote” events such as these is essential for students. West says getting students involved early encourages lifelong voting.

According to a CNN exit poll , 56% of Georgia voters ages 18 to 29 and 88% of black Georgia voters voted Democratic in the 2020 election. However, that same poll states that 69% of Georgians who voted Democratic did so not to support the candidate, but to go against his Republican opponent.

Students participating in the “Chalk it Up” voter registration campaign Wednesday told The Current how impactful it would be for them to see a Black woman like Harris win the most powerful position in America. Enthusiasm soared when she accepted the Democratic Party nomination last week.

“I feel like it was an exciting moment for every black woman in America,” Kayla Jordan, a 20-year-old political science major, said about watching Harris accept the nomination. “I feel like this is our first time even getting so close to this position.”

“I know when I was little; obviously your parents tell you you can be anything, but you don’t always see people that look like you as anything,” Sophia Perez, an 18-year-old education major, said.

Many of the 10 women students who spoke with The Current said that reproductive rights are one of their top political issues, while male students listed education and the economy as important issues to them.

However, like other voters in Georgia, several students, including Tanayah Henderson, a 20-year-old political science major, said they are still unsure how to feel about Harris even though they are voting for her.

“I’m still trying to get a feel for Kamala because she was in office with Biden, So she did already have a chance to make a difference,” Henderson said. “For me personally, I want to see more.”

Two young Georgia Democrats who attended the party’s convention in Chicago last week told The Current that they believe the best way to excite young black voters is to stress how Harris’s policies align with theirs.

“Her policies are exactly what we as young people are going to need whenever we graduate,” said Blake Robinson, a Georgia Southern graduate and the Deputy State Coordinator at Campus Vote Project.

He cited Harris’s $25k incentive for first-time homebuyers as an example of how her policies could benefit young people.

“We’re not working jobs where we’re going to be able to come right out of college or right out of high school, and go and work a job for about two, three years, save up, and then put $100,000 down on a new house,” Robinson said.

Duro Haynes, a congressional staffer for Rep. David Scott, says he believes there is a disconnect between Harris’s policies and getting that information into the hands of young black voters.

Haynes listed examples such as the historic insulin cap and the bipartisan infrastructure law as other policies that will benefit young voters.

“I think that stuff resonates really deeply with them,” Haynes said. “They are just kind of unaware of those facts. So I think folks like me and folks like my friends talking to politically involved is one of the best ways to come through those echo chambers.”