First-Time voters in a presidential election share their motivation for voting in this presidential election.

Photo Essay by Matt Eich, Julia Rendleman, Christopher Tyree

The only demographic with an increasing participation rate in the 2016 election were voters between the ages of 18 and 29. Still, they lagged far behind all other age groups -- only 46.1% of eligible voters in this demographic voted, according to the US Census figures.

Before the covid pandemic hit and the protests over the murder of George Floyd this summer, A survey by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation early this year found eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 show less interest in voting in the presidential election. But the Knight Foundation found in an August poll that the covid pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests have animated young voters. Many now expect to vote, and their numbers could be a deciding factor in this year’s race.

Members of Generation Z, born after 1995, are expected to make up 10% of voters in the election this year, up from just 4% in 2016. This group is more racially and ethnically diverse than previous generations. Early polling data indicates that these voters are motivated and showing up at the polls.

The Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism asked a dozen first-time voters in a presidential election to express what is motivating them to vote this year. They shared what issues they care about, how they get their information and why they feel voting is important in 2020.

Interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Ramadhan Nsengiyumva, 44

Roanoke

Pretty much it's my right. According to American rules. It's my right to vote. Since it's my right to vote, I must do it. For us who are newcomers, it's hard because we don't have a meeting where they explain to us what we must expect. I'm a full time employee and a part-time student, how can I have time to watch TV? I don’t have time to watch TV and it's hard to know what’s important. But for me, I need to vote to make a change.I have an Apple iPhone. If something is important, they send me a message. If it touches me and is interesting I can get more information. If not, I stop there. That's how I got some information. You must investigate and know what is the reality behind what they wrote. What did they say before the election? Did they keep their promises? Are they doing the right thing? They are just using their speech as a trap to attract us and to keep us in the nets to elect them. But they forget that the country is based on some rules and regulations, which is the Constitution. Mostly I don't like the politicians because what they say is not what they do. It's important to vote because there's no way you can just sit there.

Joseph Kilburne, 18

Centreville

I think it's partly just because I've been raised to understand issues and to educate myself on those issues. And I believe that there are some things that need to be changed and I believe that as someone who can vote, I can help those changes happen. I feel I'm most passionate about things like healthcare for everyone that needs it, racial injustices, and equality for everyone. I like to look on news sources and on things like social media posts. And then I go and fact check them myself and see if there are multiple things saying that exact same thing. So I know I'm getting correct information and all the information, and I like to look at different viewpoints so I can get both sides of it and make my decisions based off that. I think voting is important because there are a lot of people that can't vote. And a lot of the time, those people that can't vote, can’t because of things like voter suppression, and they're the ones that need that vote to be able to help change what they need. It's a responsibility of a citizen of the United States to be able to vote so that they can implement the things that need to be implemented or implement the things that need to be changed. I just believe that everyone has a right to get what they need and what they think is right. And everyone has a voice and deserves to have that voice be heard.

Diamond McLendon, 21

New Kent, Virginia

I want to see some things change like healthcare for all people. Voting is important because it can change a single person’s life. Having my daughter spend one month in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and one more in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) made me see the value of healthcare. Votes count and if you want to see change, you have to vote. I get my information from USA.gov. They give a list of options that you can look further into where to vote to who to vote for. I just wanted [my daughter] to grow up with equal rights and in a world where things are done in a correct way.

Timothy Luu, 20

Springfield

I think this election is a bit too important to afford to lose. The past four years I've been, you know, the government is not particularly strong. I think that the government needs a change and we can't afford to have to not change it. The Black Lives Matter movement really has me interested in race equality. Environmental conservation and preservation is a big issue for me because it makes me feel like once all of the present problems like covid, and I guess even Black Lives Matter, get resolved, we still have these big ecological issues to actually tackle. And by the end, it might even be too late. You just can't escape the news. Like if you're browsing YouTube or you're just Googling, you'll see, on the sidebars, like “X” said this, “X” did this at that event. So, I feel like I get a very slanted viewpoint of things, but that's how I get my information. I think it's important to vote because we are at a critical juncture of American history right now. A lot of pressing social and political and ecological issues are coming to a head now. And so we need to particularly show up to vote in force to prevent any further harm being done to our society. I have always thought it's more important that the way that I live is loving my neighbor and not just the way that I vote.

Caroline Garcia, 18

Roanoke

I was kind of forced into politics when I was little. In 2008, we moved to Roanoke because the economy crashed. And so we lost everything. We lost our small business. My mom lost her job. So Roanoke was kind of a stepping stone. And that is when I realized that everything is not gonna work for you if you don't go out and try to make the country work for you. I watched my mom get really excited about Obama and it kind of showed me that politics is something that everyone could be proud about and happy about. And as a trans person, that's kind of something that I have to do because this election my rights are on the line, especially with the Supreme Court. Climate change is my number one because in around 30 years we won't have a good planet to live on. It won’t be able to hold itself up. And so that's what's really driving me out this election. Plus there's a pipeline going in my backyard. We have to go out there and fight against it. Twitter is mainly where I see stuff. And TikTok is where they break down different stuff, like studies that are done. And then I go in and I try to find very good credible news sources that actually, if they make a mistake, they will list it. Or like the New York Times, because I know that they're very credible. I would just base it off of them there. But if I see it's like on some sketchy website, I don't believe it unless there's like multiple different studies or multiple different news articles that are talking about it and actually have links to actual different websites instead of their own. Education should be what drives people to go and vote.

Lucy Philip

Roanoke

If you are a citizen you must support the country. I need to vote to protect this country as well. I support healthcare and also support people who are in need, like the homeless. I'm watching the news at home. Voting is important to protect the country to be safe. Sometimes you vote to get a new person so some things will improve over the previous one. We need to vote so that the country will grow and develop, to help those who are in need.

Jorge Molina, 18

Clifton

What's motivating me to vote is that everyone's voting right now. And it should be a very important time to get either someone into office or someone out of office. And it shows the people's free speech. With everyone divided right now we all can come together and choose who we want or not. I’m interested in immigration and gun control but I also really want our economy to prevail and not just slowly go under, because what I've been noticing is it's kind of going down. So I want to see it go back up. I judge it on a couple things on certain websites like CNN or Fox News, or I actually check on the candidate’s political website, just so I can try to get the biases out of the way and see what the main issues are and like what they're doing. I believe that voting is the main source of what people should use as their freedom of speech, because they can vote in who they actually want. That can actually change something, while protests just show what cause they're worried about. That doesn't necessarily mean anything is going to actually happen and it could do more harm than good because people could take like some stuff, bad stuff going on in the protests as the main issue.

TeQuanna McLendon, 24

New Kent, Virginia

It's a very important election this time and people fought for our right to vote so I probably should. I watch TV with my mom. She keeps CNN on all day. When I walked into the abortion clinic, I thought I had my mind made up but discovering I had two blessings inside of me made my stomach drop. God had made one of my biggest dreams come true which was to have multiples. I just could not imagine not having the option to choose what I want to do with my body. Every woman deserves a choice when it comes to her life. It should never be a forced choice made by a secondary party.

Cassidy Mailand, 23

Henrico County

I think [the reason I’m voting] is two-fold. I had a baby this year and when you have a baby you start to see the world as it will be in the future and the world he’ll grow up in. Secondly, I have always thought that the way that I live is loving my neighbor but now I see voting as an extension of that love. I don’t really have a specific system down for researching candidates. I use a non-biased search engine to look up articles and other websites of organizations that have information. I’ve also had some canvassers in the neighborhood and I always take whatever they’re giving.

Ayana Tillery, 19

Roanoke

I'm not really into politics, but after hearing both sides, for once, I am scared and it's pushing me to vote for the future, for what's best for the future. (I care about) climate change and the immigration laws, things like that. I'm scared for the planet and scared for the people that can't get in or out the United States safely. My source of information is honestly Twitter. I'm kind of half-and-half on if it's correct or anything, what I'm seeing is right, but I'm going to go with my gut and see what people who are verified are saying, and then trust that. If you care about what's going on in the world, then that should be enough for you to vote.

Daniel Eiker, 20

Battery Park, Richmond

I wasn't too concerned with the idea of voting [when I was younger] and still I don't put too much faith into it. My philosophy on how I live my life isn't going to change with who the president is. A lot of [information] I haven't personally researched - it is more what I hear. My dad is conservative, so I hear what he says, but I got to a liberal school, so I get it from there too. I think I definitely get influenced by them. I think there is definitely a very strong liberal influence, at least now from the NBA, with trying to get the President out of office. I really try not to be influenced by the media or other people's opinions though, because especially recently I’ve just realized how much everyone just wants to push their allegiances on everyone else. There’s definitely nothing wrong with having a conversation and explaining your views, I just feel like it’s a lot of shouting from both sides at this point. So I just try to take info from both sides and form an opinion.

Indigo Witt, 20

Crozet

I'm mainly voting for decency. I'm thinking of the future. I'm thinking of human rights for people of color, the LGBTQ plus community, for women's rights as well. I would say right now, the pandemic is probably the issue that most people are really concerned about. So that's probably the biggest issue for me right now. I get most of my information from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website and look at how things are going, especially where I live in Charlottesville, at UVA. I need to pay attention to what the scientists and medical professionals are saying. I go to my doctors as well to see any updates I need to know, but I stick to the professionals. I kind of stay away from anyone who has any political bias just because it's become such a political issue, unfortunately. I think voting is important, because when I was looking at the numbers recently, I think nearly half of Americans don't already vote. And so, I'm looking at voter suppression happening right now, voter restrictions. And so I'm just not going to let anyone make me believe that my vote doesn't count. I've just kind of realized at this point that our vote is our voice, especially for the younger generation. So I feel pretty mobilized at this point, knowing how important it is and this election especially.