Atlanta Journal-Constitution: In battleground Georgia, new voters on the rise before ‘22 election

Georgia has changed ahead of this year’s elections:

More than half of Georgia’s new voters — nearly 850,000 — are under 35 years old. But turnout among young voters usually lags because they aren’t as engaged in the political process as much as older residents.

In Georgia, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote when they obtain their driver’s licenses unless they check a box indicating they don’t want to be signed up. …

An expanding electorate in a narrowly divided state sets up this fall’s elections after the last gubernatorial contest in 2018 was decided by fewer than 55,000 votes and the presidential contest in 2020 by about 12,000 votes.

There are now nearly 7.8 million registered voters in Georgia heading into the Nov. 8 election featuring a rematch between Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams, and a nationally watched race between Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.

Both political parties are working to increase their territory, with Republicans opening a Hispanic community center in Gwinnett County and Democrats campaigning in conservative rural areas….

New voters will turn out if they’re concerned about issues that are important to them, such as democracy, taxes, education and housing costs, said Aunna Dennis, executive director for Common Cause Georgia, a government accountability organization.

“All these people are joining in democracy and getting their voices heard at the ballot box,” Dennis said. “We have to pay attention to why they want to go out and vote, and what they care about.”