Staff Reports
In Florida, young voters like 18-year-old Jordan Vassallo from Jupiter High School may be pivotal in the upcoming elections. Vassallo plans to vote for President Joe Biden and also for a ballot amendment that would protect abortion rights in the state. She believes that the ban on abortion at six weeks makes no sense, as most people do not even know they are pregnant at that stage. She is among the more than 8 million new voters eligible to vote this November. These young voters are of great interest to both Democrats and Republicans in Florida.
Florida Democrats hope abortion and marijuana questions draw young voters despite low enthusiasm https://t.co/5PFSfV2Nyg
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 30, 2024
Democrats in Florida hope that young voters will be driven to the polls by ballot amendments legalizing marijuana and enshrining abortion rights. They are aiming to reverse the active voter registration edge of nearly 900,000 for Republicans in Florida. However, some Republicans, like Nathan Mitchell, president of Florida Atlantic University’s College Republicans, question how impactful abortion will be in the election. He believes that recreational marijuana amendment will bring out more voters than the abortion issue.
The AP VoteCast survey found that the majority of Florida voters supported legalizing the recreational use of marijuana nationwide, with 76% of voters under 45 in favor. It is still uncertain how important this issue is for younger voters compared to other issues.
There is some skepticism about President Biden’s popularity among young voters, as evidenced by a survey that showed six in 10 adults under 30 would be dissatisfied with Biden as the Democratic Party nominee in 2024. Additionally, only about 2 in 10 said that they would be “excited” if Biden were re-elected. Young voters were instrumental in helping elect Biden in 2020, but new issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict and student loan forgiveness have emerged this year, causing dissatisfaction among young voters.
Despite these concerns, some young voters in Florida, such as 21-year-old Trevian Briskey, believe that issues like abortion rights and marijuana legalization give them actual control over important matters. They feel that these issues are a way to galvanize and mobilize young voters, particularly those for whom abortion is an important issue.
Overall, young voters like 21-year-old Matheus Xavier, who studies biology at Florida Atlantic University, are deciding their votes based on the issues that matter to them. Xavier believes that Biden aligns more with the things he cares about, including the preservation of abortion rights. While some young voters may have concerns about Biden’s performance, they are still considering the issues that are important to them when making their voting decisions.
