CLARKSTON, Ga. — The number of early voters in Georgia passed 2 million Wednesday – a record early turnout for a non-presidential election. Despite that, young people are mostly skipping the party.
State data shows the largest age demographic of registered and active voters is voters under age 24. Yet older voters are dominating early voting sites.
Zavier Gordon, 19, said "it's important" when asked about voting Wednesday at Georgia State University's Clarkston campus. He said he’s going to vote but hasn’t done it yet.
"As soon as I get the time," Gordon said. "I just need to push myself more."
For Suzy Hammsek, another 19-year-old student, she said she's waiting for Election Day to vote.
"If you're really committed, if you really want to vote, you’ll find time to vote," the GSU student said.
Among early voters, the state data shows older voters are casting their ballots early in droves. However, despite the state continuing to shatter early voting records in this year's midterm election, young people are not.
Among those listed by the state as “active registered voters":
- 49 percent of people over the age of 60 have already voted.
- 25.4 percent of people between the ages of 35 and 59 have already voted.
- Among voters aged 34 and below – only 11 percent have early-voted.
"They think their vote doesn’t matter," 20-year-old Cameron Watson, a student at Georgia State explained. Additionally, she said she’s going to early vote later this week.
Watson said she sees a lot of apathy among her college-aged peers.
"They think their voice doesn’t matter, their opinion doesn’t matter, like they think that it doesn’t count," she described. "Especially in the presidential election, like with the electoral college and everything. They think 'oh my vote doesn’t matter.'"
11Alive’s last statewide poll showed strong support for Republican candidates among older voters, and strong support for Democrats among younger voters. The data suggests the Republican ticket is having a good election so far.