Kamala Harris struggles to spark enthusiasm for millions of younger voters

Anger at Vice President for her support of Israel could be compounded by new ID laws making it harder for students to vote

A voter registration desk at Voter Fest 2024 at Cal State, Los Angeles. AFP

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In the final days before the US election, Vice President Kamala Harris is facing challenges across the country from young people, a key voting bloc that normally leans towards the Democrats.

Parts of a normally energised demographic that played a big role in the victories of Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and Joe Biden in 2020, have grown despondent with their options this year, mainly because of Ms Harris's role in America's support for Israel as it pummels Gaza, where the death toll since Israel's invasion last year has passed more than 43,100 people.

Compounding this lack of enthusiasm for the Democrats, new voter ID laws in swing states could make it harder for students to cast their ballot.

About eight million young people are expected to vote in this year's presidential election. Four years ago, Mr Biden was backed by about 60 per cent of younger voters, but it appears Ms Harris will struggle to meet that mark.

While the Vice President enjoyed an initial surge in popularity after Mr Biden said he was stepping aside, that early momentum soon stalled as Ms Harris struggled on how her administration would differ from a second Biden term.

A CNN poll showed Ms Harris had a 12-point lead over Mr Trump among voters under 35. But four years ago, Mr Biden’s lead among voters that age was 21 per cent. Margins of victory are expected to be razor thin in the battleground states deciding the election, so even small changes in how young people vote could make a big difference.

Omar Akad, who is studying electrical engineering at Arizona State University, said he had voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, as he feels abandoned by the Democrats and Republicans. His family is originally from Gaza and he said he has lost 200 relatives since the war broke out last year after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people.

“Normally I would vote Democrat. My family has voted blue for the last 20 years,” Mr Akad told The National. “As Americans, Palestinians and Muslims we feel our hard-earned money, the taxes we have paid, should not be sent to Israel to bomb children.”

Omar Akad, centre, campaigns against Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo: Courtesy Omar Akad

This year, anger over Israel’s invasion of Gaza led to a wave of protests in university campuses across the country and student fury has not dissipated. This could prove significant, especially in swing states Michigan and Pennsylvania, and groups like Students for Justice in Palestine have sprung up across the US.

Leslie Kramer, 20, who is studying music, creative writing and sociology, is also turning her back on the Democrats when she casts her first vote in a presidential election.

“In local elections I used to vote Democrat, but I am looking into independent parties,” she told The National. “I will be voting for candidates who are progressive. In this election, I will be voting for Jill Stein. It is partly because of Gaza. But the failure of the Democratic Party is far bigger. They are not just supporting genocide in Gaza, they are supporting it in the Congo and Sudan.”

Ms Kramer, who founded a local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, said: “There are a lot of students who feel the same way.”

First-time voter Nina Sablan, 19, wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer that she would not be voting at all.

“Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are players in a game of wealth and power that denies groups of people their land, humanity and social mobility,” Ms Sablan wrote.

The drive to punish the Vice President next week is well organised by a group called Abandon Harris – formerly known as Abandon Biden. The group, which has branches across the country and is endorsing Dr Stein, has the backing of more than three dozen Muslim leaders across the US.

However, some students who are angry about Gaza have remained in the Democratic fold. Sam Borne, 20, an economics and government student, said he had already voted for Ms Harris.

“While the situation in Palestine is very incredibly upsetting, I also care about other issues such as the economy, the climate and housing,” he said. “Donald Trump is a horrible character. While Kamala Harris is not perfect, Trump is magnitudes worse and would make the situation in Palestine exponentially worse.”

Another headache for Democrats is the increasing difficulty students face in even casting a ballot.

According to the Brennan Centre for Justice, a left-of-centre institute, stricter ID and registration laws in some states are threatening to suppress student turnout.

Student activists encourage others to take advantage of early voting and cast their ballots in the 2024 election at a the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, on October 22. AFP

Student IDs are not being accepted in several states. More significantly, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Texas have now refused to accept out-of-state driving licences. Given that many students move around the country to pursue further education, the move will harm their chances of voting where they attend college.

Elsewhere, a student was removed from the electoral roll in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, until he could prove he was not registered at his family home in Connecticut.

Even though he got the confirmation, the student has not been restored to the voters’ roll and now faces a race against time to take part in the presidential election.

Christopher Galdieri, professor of politics at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, believes the voting restrictions will have a greater impact than a lack of enthusiasm for Ms Harris among young voters, which he suggested was overblown.

“Making it harder to vote is potentially a factor. One of the things Dems have going for them is that they did well in the swing states in the midterms,” Prof Galdieri told The National.

“But many will not have driving licences so it will be difficult to vote with just a student ID in some states, like North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona.

“Everything I have seen shows [Ms Harris] has a substantial lead among young voters. I think the folks who said she won’t vote for her weren’t going to anyway.”