Southern Poverty Law Center

First-time voters at historically Black Alabama university react to Trump’s win

By Safiya Charles | Read the full story here

Friend,

On the night of the presidential election, Kayla McCray felt anxious. The contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was the first federal election in which the 20-year-old Alabama State University (ASU) student had ever voted.

The historically Black university (HBCU) was holding a watch party on campus. McCray peeked in but quickly left. She preferred instead to hole up in her dorm room all night, splitting her attention between ABC News and a Google ticker on her laptop.

It was probably one of the most stressful days of my life – seeing how many states were turning red,” said McCray.

McCray serves as president of the ASU chapter of the College Democrats of America.

While the youth turnout rate this year appears to be down from 2020, students like McCray demonstrate the hope of an engaged youth electorate. This year, the Southern Poverty Law Center launched The South’s Got Now | Decidimos campaign to turn out voters, particularly young voters of color like her, and unite them on issues that affect their communities in local, state and federal races throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

It was a late night as well for 23-year-old Armani Benton, president of Alpha Gamma Psi, the ASU chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, The National Political Science Honor Society. She had spent time volunteering to help people register to vote at the courthouse and phone banking for Shomari Figures, who won his race for Alabama’s recently drawn 2nd Congressional District.

Benton said she stayed up until 2 a.m. watching MSNBC and refreshing her Google and Instagram feeds. She said she was shocked by the outcome.

“I felt a lot of people thought that because the Harris campaign targeted a lot of support from HBCUs and Divine 9 [sorority and fraternity members] that it was going to be a liberation for people who are liberals,” Benton said.

Others, like ESaeLynn Cameron, weren’t so surprised. The ASU student cast an absentee ballot in her home state of Ohio, her first vote in a presidential election. She attended the campus watch party. The mood was subdued.

“I feel like this outcome was expected by a lot of people,” she said. “I just hope that Americans can remain respectful of different opinions and political views.”