[ti:Meet Some of America's First-Time Voters]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.24]Every four years, young Americans and naturalized citizens
[00:05.88]are able to vote for the first time for a president.
[00:10.20]This year, more than 10 million people have become eligible to vote for their first time.
[00:18.56]These new voters are diverse in age, background and political opinions.
[00:25.28]They will be a big part of what the Pew Research Center
[00:30.56]has called the most "diverse electorate in U.S. history."
[00:36.84]A majority of newly eligible voters are between the ages of 18 and 29.
[00:44.84]The voting age in the United States is 18.
[00:49.40]But researchers say young people are the least likely group to vote on Election Day.
[00:57.60]Naturalized American citizens will also have a chance to cast their votes
[01:04.40]for the first time this November.
[01:08.32]Many of them say they care about issues such as economic fairness
[01:14.24]and educational opportunity.
[01:17.32]Amanda Lugg is one of those first-time voters.
[01:22.48]She is a naturalized English and Ugandan-American citizen.
[01:27.88]"The disparity in this country between the haves and the have-nots
[01:31.80]has just grown wider and wider, and with that breeds,
[01:38.72]breeds so much animosity and fear and results in
[01:46.80]something like we're seeing in, in the U.K. right now."
[01:51.48]Jace Laquerre was the youngest delegate at this year's Republican Party convention.
[01:59.00]He turned 18 in August.
[02:02.48]He says he hopes the party will listen to the opinions of young voters.
[02:08.32]"A lot of younger people are more liberty-oriented, a little more socially liberal than the older Republicans,
[02:14.99]and I think that's what's costing us elections in the end,
[02:17.56]and so, you know, young Republicans are here to say
[02:20.88]this is what we think and hopefully if the older Republicans
[02:25.28]will listen we can help win the youth vote in the future and win some elections."
[02:28.96]Aya Elamroussi is an Egyptian-American student and a first-time voter.
[02:34.96]She says many young Americans do not understand how much freedom they have.
[02:41.92]That includes the freedom to vote.
[02:45.92]"Voting is the basic act of a democratic country.
[02:49.08]Most of us in America, if you were to compare the lives here to the ones in Egypt,
[02:55.41]we live a comfortable life.
[02:57.32]We, at age 16, you, you are able to go out there
[03:01.36]and have a job and pretty much make your own money.
[03:06.02]Over there, that's not something that happens."
[03:08.68]More new voters support Democratic and Independent candidates than Republicans.
[03:15.00]But some new voters say they want Donald Trump to become president,
[03:20.92]including Christian Martinez.
[03:24.32]"Everything other than his radical statements,
[03:28.18]everything, I believe that he's very well integrated
[03:32.68]when it comes to making a strong foundation with the, into the economy.
[03:37.03]The economy is something very fragile, but yet again it could revolve around
[03:41.76]giving us free health care, free education.
[03:45.34]If our economy is weak, we can't do anything."
[03:48.80]Elamroussi says she is frightened by the possibility that Trump could become president.
[03:56.24]"The idea is when the rhetoric that he says becomes normalized.
[04:00.32]When it can cause violence, when it can turn debate, peaceful debate, into physical violence.
[04:10.21]That's where the problem comes in."
[04:13.96]I'm Jonathan Evans.
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