The table, covered with goodies, is set at the entrance to the Community College of Philadelphia, in the northeast of the United States. “Register to vote”, calls for a poster. The initiative, organized by this public higher education establishment, aims to register young people on the electoral lists before the Democratic and Republican primaries, scheduled for April 23 in Pennsylvania, and the presidential election on November 5. A young girl who will turn 18 this summer stops to fill out the form. In total, eleven registrations were completed in two hours on Wednesday March 13. “We celebrate each of them, explains Olivia Edwards, program manager. But there is a lot of apathy. Many young people tell us that they don’t know if they want to vote…”
A good summary of the state of mind of those under 30, not very excited about the idea of reliving, barring a last minute surprise, the same match as four years ago between the outgoing Democratic president, Joe Biden, and his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, now the only Republican candidate in the running, since the abandonment of his rival Nikki Haley following his defeat on Super Tuesday, March 5. Or two competitors who are breaking unpopularity records.
Whether at Community College or the public Temple University, two schools welcoming students with diverse socio-economic profiles, most students deplore a choice “between two bad options” when they are polite, “shitty” when they are no longer.
“Nothing has really changed”
While the election promises to be very close, those under 30 constitute a significant electoral force. Even if they traditionally vote less than their elders, they were particularly mobilized in 2020. Fifty percent of them went to the polls, a participation increase of 11 points compared to 2016, and Joe Biden in had been the big beneficiary, according to the Circle, a research center attached to Tufts University (Massachusetts). The stakes are all the more important in swing states, likely to swing to one side or the other. Four years ago, for example, the Democrat won Pennsylvania with barely eighty thousand votes ahead of the Republican. “Joe Biden must win over young voters, says Daniel Hopkins, professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He needs them to mobilize, especially because one of Donald Trump’s strengths is being able to generate a lot of participation among his voters. »
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