海角大神

Preethi Gowrishankar was never really politically active before this year. But watching polarization increase during President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration changed that.

The 27-year-old data scientist put on a face mask and stood in line on a recent sunny but cold day in Atlanta to cast a ballot early for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock ahead of Georgia鈥檚 Jan. 5 runoff elections that will determine control of the U.S. Senate.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen in the last four years what apathy leads to and where it can get us,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I鈥檝e tried to make an effort to become a lot more informed of my choices and to make my voice heard.鈥�

Strong turnout among voters under 30 nationwide helped propel Democrat Joe Biden to victory over Republican Donald Trump in the November presidential election. Young voters were key to Mr. Biden鈥檚 narrow win in Georgia, with a margin of just under 12,000 votes.

Now, with the national spotlight on Georgia鈥檚 Senate races, the campaigns and voter mobilization groups are working furiously to make sure young voters turn out for the runoffs, which pit Mr. Ossoff and Mr. Warnock against Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. A win by either Republican would maintain the Senate majority for the GOP, while a sweep by both Democrats would yield of 50鈥�50 split in the chamber, with the tie-breaking vote going to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The push to connect with young voters has been especially apparent for the Democratic campaigns, which have more to gain from youth turnout 鈥� and more to lose if there鈥檚 a drop-off.

Mr. Ossoff and Mr. Warnock have held rallies in college towns, invested in staff to help register and mobilize young voters, and engaged social media influencers to promote content and run ad campaigns on new media and digital platforms. They recently hosted a game night on Twitch, a livestreaming platform popular with young gamers. Mr. Ossoff also has made a push to connect with voters through TikTok, a video sharing app used by millions of U.S. teens.

Mr. Perdue鈥檚 campaign did not respond to a request for comment, and Ms. Loeffler鈥檚 campaign directed questions to Abigail Sigler, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party. Ms. Sigler did not answer a specific question asking how the campaigns are reaching out to young voters but sent a statement attacking Mr. Ossoff and Mr. Warnock and asserting that policies backed by Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler are better for young voters.

In Georgia, people under 30 cast about 16% of the votes in the November election, compared with 13% nationwide, according to AP VoteCast. About six in 10 voters under 30 in Georgia backed Mr. Biden over Mr. Trump. But like voters overall, younger voters split starkly by race and ethnicity. Young nonwhite voters backed Mr. Biden overwhelmingly, with roughly eight in 10 supporting Democrats. Among young white voters, Mr. Trump was favored by about two to one.

Nse Ufot is the executive director of the New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan group founded by former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams.

鈥淔rom registration, to actually turning out to vote, to volunteering, we鈥檝e absolutely witnessed and been a part in the increase in youth participation in our elections,鈥� Ms. Ufot said.

The group registered thousands of young voters during nationwide protests against racial inequality this year, launched an intensive effort to combat misinformation about voting on social media, and has leaned into virtual events and virtual mobilization efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic, efforts that are continuing through the runoff elections.

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, the director of CIRCLE at Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, which studies youth voting trends, said youth voting turnout is being affected by both external investment and peer-to-peer political engagement among young people.

鈥淓specially in the pandemic era of 2020, there is both mobilization from external groups and political parties, but also huge amounts of young people making social media contact to communicate what they believe politically, who they think people should vote for, and the issues that they really care about,鈥� she said.

Young Democrats aren鈥檛 the only ones who are engaging. Young Republican voters, weary of having Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress, have been mainstays at the large rallies held by Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler.

Dylan Leonard, a 20-year-old student from Milton, Georgia, sat on a park bench after a recent rally in the wealthy suburb of Atlanta where Ivanka Trump, the president鈥檚 daughter and senior White House adviser, touted Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler as 鈥渢he last line of defense鈥� against Democrats imposing their agenda on the nation.

He lamented Mr. Trump鈥檚 election loss but sounded a hopeful note that Republicans can be redeemed with victories in the Senate runoffs.

鈥淗opefully we鈥檒l have a good go around. It hasn鈥檛 been exactly what we鈥檝e wanted so far,鈥� Mr. Leonard said. 鈥淏ut hopefully we鈥檒l put it all together with Georgia.鈥�

Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report.聽

This story was reported by the Associated Press.