With early voting approaching in Georgia, all eyes are on whether young voters will turn out to vote.

The Atlanta Dream had a lot at stake on Tuesday. The WNBA team needed to defeat the Chicago Sky to have a chance at the playoffs.

Kayla Jones, a 22-year-old dancer from Dream's Hype Squad, was there and As the visitors gradually streamed into the arena, she noticed something.

“I was dancing, looked to my left and thought, oh God, there's the polling station!” she said.

After the Dream secured a much-needed victory, Jones crossed over. She's from California, but as a nursing student in Atlanta, she asked the poll organizers who helped participants register and verify their information if she could register in Georgia this year.

“I just don't think California needs my vote as much as Georgia does,” she told NPR.

Jones is supporting Vice President Harris this fall. For her, voting is a necessary vote, which can feel difficult at times.

“Especially as a black woman in this world, there are times when I say I'm not feeling well or I'm in pain, and sometimes doctors don't listen to me. Or when I feel unsafe and a police officer might not understand or care,” she explained. “So my voice is something I can say that I voted, and this was my part in making sure that I have a say in what happens on a daily basis in society.”

Jones isn't sure yet whether she will ultimately vote in California or update her permanent address to vote in Georgia. Regardless, the nursing student and dancer is part of a growing and powerful voting bloc. Gen Z and millennial voters – voters under 43 – are expected to make up nearly half of the eligible voting population this fall.

But it remains uncertain whether young voters – who historically have not voted as frequently as older generations – will turn out to vote this year, particularly in crucial swing states like Georgia, where President Biden won by less than half a percentage point in 2020 and where voting begins this year on October 15.

Change in mood among younger voters

Standing nearby the registration tables at the Dream game was Beth Lynk, the executive director of When We All Vote, the nonpartisan group that organized the event.

“When we review the registry, we do so with the promise to take care of it,” Lynk said. “The process does not end tonight.”

Launched in 2018 by former First Lady Michelle Obama, When We All Vote frequently partners with celebrities and national brands on voting initiatives across the country.

“We are proud that we are getting young people to register to vote – we will drive that number as high as possible – and then asking them if they have already planned to vote. How do they vote?” she explained.

The group aims to attract young and black voters to civic engagement, both groups that are central to the Democratic Party's base.

Voters under 30, especially younger black, Latino and Asian-American voterseasily supported President Biden in 2020. This year many growth disappointed with their options as they faced another rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

But that could change. In the week that Biden dropped out and Harris took over the Democratic nomination, there was a significant increase in voter registrations among young people, especially young women and young women of color.

Tom Bonier is a Democratic strategist at Target Smart, which recently launched a Database with data on individual states Details on these new registrations. While it's unclear who these new voters will support in the fall, Bonier argued the increase is a clear indicator of youth enthusiasm for Harris.

“The fact that someone actually takes the time and energy to go out and register to vote is a sign that they are engaged,” he said. “When you see this focused on a particular group, that is generally an indication that that group … is much more engaged.”

Many have not yet registered

However, this recent surge in registrations has not yet made up for the dips seen earlier in the campaign season, and it remains unclear whether this total by Election Day will surpass or match 2020's numbers.

“I think it's safe to say that the voter registration deficit this year compared to four years ago was greatest among younger voters,” Bonier said. “It's an open question to what extent that gap will be closed. I believe it will happen.”

Since late July, more than 45,000 people under the age of 30 have registered to vote in Georgia, according to data compiled by Target Smart based on the Georgia Department of State.

However, some have not yet taken this step.

On Thursday afternoon, Gabriella Nicolosi was sitting at an outdoor table in downtown Atlanta. The 18-year-old studies at Georgia State University.

“I will definitely vote in this election,” she said, adding, “I have to register. So I have to do that now.”

The most important thing for her right now is protecting reproductive health care. She described how she became afraid when she heard that a 28-year-old woman died in a hospital in a suburb of Atlanta last month because she was unable to have an emergency abortion in time.

“This has really upset a lot of girls in Atlanta,” Nicolosi said. “I think it's scary for a lot of kids and girls my age because … we don't know what's going to happen next.”

Nicolosi plans to support Harris this fall, but until recently was unsure whether she would vote at all.

“With Biden and Trump, I never felt moved, seen or represented,” she said. “When Kamala [Harris] just came in and thought, oh, you know, maybe it does have something to do with me after all.”

While Nicolosi has made up her mind, some of her classmates have not yet done so.

“I've been able to do more research on my own, especially since I'm more on my own now,” explained 21-year-old GSU student Julio Almanza. “Are the Democrats really that bad this time? Or did I just grow up with that mindset?”

Almanza voted for Trump in 2020, partly because of the veterans issue, as his mother served in the military. This time, he said, both sides are on the table and he is open to learning more about Harris.

“I think it would be cool to have a female president,” he said. “I guess she's done a lot of political stuff, but I just haven't seen it… Maybe she has similar ideas to me.”

Copyright: NPR