Credit: (Hannah Gross/NJ Spotlight News)Lots of first-time voters at Rutgers University in New Brunswick named women’s rights as a top issue, with many voting for whom they hope becomes the first woman president.
NJ Spotlight News spoke with nearly two dozen voters at the Busch and College Avenue campuses, all of whom said they already voted or planned to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. Most students approached by NJ Spotlight News declined to be interviewed.
New Jersey had the highest youth turnout of any state in the last presidential election and has high youth voter registration this year, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
Rutgers students said the presidential election motivated them to vote for the first time, with some saying they didn’t vote in down-ballot races because they weren’t as familiar with the candidates.
Rutgers has seven campus polling locations for its more than 40,000 students. Some students voted on campus, while others voted early in person or by mail at their permanent home address. Students from the nonpartisan group RU Voting set up tables across campus to answer voting questions and help students find their polling places.
Women’s rights
Zeniah Edmondson, 21, a senior running an RU Voting table on the College Ave. campus, said she voted early, in person on the first day of early voting in Jackson, which allowed her to focus on get-out-the-vote efforts on Election Day.
“It’s important for everybody to understand the importance of civics and be involved in civics,” Edmondson said. “It’s the idea of being empowered in power and having a say in your community.”
Edmondson said human rights and women’s rights are important issues in the election.
“As a woman myself — and being part of an all-women family — I think it’s extremely important that women have a say over their body, not our government,” Edmondson said.
Daniela Valverde, 21, a senior working at another RU Voting table on the College Ave. campus, also named human rights and women’s rights as top issues. She voted early at home in Linden.
Valverde and Edmondson were asking voters how they felt about the election, with “anxious” and “uncertain” garnering the most responses, followed by “hopeful” and “excited.” They both declined to share who they voted for because RU Voting is a nonpartisan organization.
Credit: (Hannah Gross/NJ Spotlight News)In 2020, the last presidential election year, 73% of eligible students voted on Election Day at the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus, according to the university.
Gianna Molavi, 19, voted by mail in Cherry Hill. She said women’s rights and access to birth control motivated her to vote for Harris.
Drew Caviglia, 19, also named women’s rights as a top issue, along with the U.S.-Mexico border and the war in Ukraine. Caviglia voted for Harris by mail in Erie, Pa. He said it’s fun to have a say in politics, especially in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
A ‘right and responsibility’
“Young people need to vote because a lot of times, even if they don’t like either candidate, it’s still their right and their responsibility to vote,” Caviglia said.
Franklin Tai, 20, voted early in Voorhees on Saturday, where poll workers rang a bell and applauded him for casting his first vote. Tai said he hopes his vote helps elect the first woman president of the United States. He said he wants to prevent former President Donald Trump from acting on Project 2025, the policy program prepared by a conservative think tank for a second Trump term, or prevent Trump from punishing his political enemies if he takes office.
“I think there’s a really good chance of having our first woman president and I really want to see that in my lifetime,” Tai said.
‘If you don’t have democracy, then pretty much everything is going to fall apart. Democracy is the most important thing in this country.’ — Pratyoy Biswas
Emerald Boako, 18, voted early in Queens, New York. She said climate change is the most important issue to her because she cares deeply about the environment. Basic human rights, abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights were other issues on her mind, prompting her to vote for Harris.
‘It’s really inspiring, seeing someone who’s a woman of color in such a position of power. It really shows how far we’ve come. Just sixty years ago, someone like me couldn’t even vote and now someone like me [could be] president,” Boako said.
Credit: (Hannah Gross/NJ Spotlight News)Maicen Grays, 19, said it felt good to vote for the first time in Kearny. Grays took an Uber home to vote on Election Day and then got a ride back to campus from her mom. Her younger sister woke up early at 6 a.m., excited to go to the polls with Grays to vote for the person who could be the first woman president.
“It just shows that not only a woman can do it but a Black woman, a person of color, can do it,” Grays said.
Haitian American controversy
Colleen Horan, 18, said access to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights motivated her to vote for Harris.
“We always have to work a little harder to get where we want to be, so it would be great for a woman, especially a woman of color, to be our president,” Horan said.
Mia Fonzo, 20, also named LGBTQ+ rights as a top issue that prompted her to vote for Harris. Fonzo has two moms and said she would not vote for someone who disrespects the LGBTQ+ community the way Trump has.
Credit: (Hannah Gross/NJ Spotlight News)One sophomore, 20, who declined to share his name because of concerns about backlash, said Trump’s comments about Haitian immigrants prompted him, a Haitian American, to vote for Harris. He said the difference in how the candidates speak and Trump’s history of spreading conspiracy theories mean the Republican candidate is not a viable option. Trump has repeatedly said that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs, despite no credible reports that this has happened.
A sophomore, he voted early, in person in Laurel Springs, and said the economy is also an important issue. He said Trump’s economic plans would increase inflation.
Pratyoy Biswas, 21, cast his first vote on Sunday in West Windsor. He said he waited about an hour on the last day of early voting. For Biswas, preserving democracy was his main concern when voting for Harris. He said electing Harris to the presidency means things would likely remain status quo for him and other Rutgers students.
“If you don’t have democracy, then pretty much everything is going to fall apart. Democracy is the most important thing in this country,” Biswas said.
