Kendall Wade had been waiting over an hour to cast her ballot.
The 19-year-old, first-year psychology student at San Diego State University had gotten to the polling place at what she thought was a reasonable hour — a little after 4pm.
Now, the sky was growing dark, and Wade and her friends were still waiting in a long line of students that snaked around the university’s alumni building.
Despite the wait though, Wade was feeling energized. She was excited about voting for the first time as an adult — and about how many of her peers had come out to cast their own ballots.
“I appreciate that this many people want to come vote,” Wade said, smiling. “Especially on a college campus.”
Amid fears over the cost of living and the state of U.S. democracy, some younger San Diego voters also described a sense of optimism and purpose as they prepared to cast their ballots Tuesday.
It could be weeks before we know exactly how many young people turned out in cities across San Diego County. The county Registrar of Voters is still processing mail-in and provisional ballots and has until Dec. 3 to certify the final election results.
But there are early signs that Wade and others may have been part of a surge of younger voters who headed to the polls across the county in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Ahead of the election, more young Americans were registered to vote nationally than in the last midterm election cycle in 2022 — especially among 18 and 19-year-olds. That’s according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a nonpartisan research center at Tufts University.
On Tuesday night, national exit polling by the Associated Press found voters between the ages of 18 and 29 turned sharply towards Democrats over worries about the economy and the state of American democracy.
San Diego County is home to roughly 200,000 voters between the ages of 18 and 24, according to the county Registrar of Voters. That’s about 10% of the county’s overall 2 million registered voters. In addition to SDSU, the Registrar’s website showed long lines at UC San Diego and CSU San Marcos.
Locally, young people told KPBS they were frustrated with gas prices, opposed President Trump’s policies and wanted to loosen Republican control of Congress.
But some young San Diego voters also described a deep sense of hope as they prepared to cast their ballots.
Guillermo Barrera Colato, a 22-year-old SDSU sophomore, said he felt a personal obligation to cast his ballot as a person of color. He said he was paying particular attention to the California governor’s race between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton.
“I know a lot of people say it’s just one vote,” he said. “But one thing can change a lot.”
Barrera Colato, a music major, was among a few students who told KPBS they had set aside other obligations to ensure their votes were counted. He was skipping rehearsal even as the end of the semester approached.
Kate Lewis, another sophomore at SDSU, said she was missing dinner with friends to make the vote center’s 8pm deadline. Still, she was upbeat.
“I think it's important to vote in the midterms,” Lewis said. “I think it has an effect on our everyday lives.”
Wade, the psychology student, said she had been forced to postpone a client’s appointment for her hairdressing business, pushing it to Wednesday. Thankfully, Wade said, she didn’t have any classes that day and was available to reschedule.
Wade said just having the opportunity to vote is something to be grateful for.
“A lot of places aren't lucky enough to have the opportunities that we do to vote and control how our country is run,” she said. “I think that we should all be taking advantage of that.”
And anyway, rescheduling the appointment had worked out for both of them, Wade said. Her client needed to vote too.
