California college students have registered to vote in large numbers for the 2020 presidential election.
A little more than a week until election day and students at San Diego State University say their generation is fired up, “I think Gen Z is motivated,” said freshman Mika Metz.
According to the California Secretary of State’s office 65,000 college students registered to vote on 94 campuses during the 2020 College Ballot Bowl. Dwarfing the 21,000 college students who registered on the Secretary of State’s online registration system in all of 2016, the last presidential election.
Shakari Singleton told NBC7 he is not surprised more students like him are registering to vote given COVID-19, “It’s been a rough year for everybody especially college students were missing out on the old life,” adding students want things to get back to normal.
The California Students Vote Project invited all major institutions of higher education in California to compete to register the most students to vote between August 17th and October 19th, 2020.
“We’re really fired up about politics, everything political,” freshman Linisa Williams told NBC7; Adding she thinks there are so many important issues this election year, “We’ve seen how things have gone in the past, and how history repeats itself, we’re trying to break that cycle.”
Historically election turnout for younger voters is low. And the question is whether college aged voters will turn out to vote early or vote on election day.
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Student Marcus Duggs thinks they will. He told NBC7 young people are engaged in political issues more than ever before, “With social media and technology now everyone’s getting more connected and having their different opinions heard.”
“A lot of us are urging each other to go get registered and vote,” said SDSU student Mert Beyazyildirim who added he wants all students to get involved, no matter the party, “As long as you’re participating that’s how democracy works.”
