BBCFor millions of Americans, November 5th will be the first day they will vote for president in a US election.
With polls showing a close race, first-time voters are feeling immense pressure to choose between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, given the strong partisan divide. I’m talking about it.
The BBC spoke to seven of them about taking part in a US election for the first time, regardless of their political affiliation.
We start with voters who are frightened by the level of partisanship that currently colors American elections.
Dennis is involved in community activities, encouraging young people to vote and support the Harris Waltz ticket.
It’s certainly disheartening to see how much partisanship has grown over the past few years. If you watch footage of old presidential debates, you can see how sincere the candidates were, and now you can see that politics has flipped.
When you see candidates leading voters to say “it’s either our side or theirs,” it’s mostly ignorant, unprofessional in any way, and shows who our commander-in-chief is. It doesn’t reflect what it should be.
I’m worried that people think it’s going to be an easy election. You may think that I have no fear of the outcome of this election. Because results change day and night. But I’m afraid.
Alexei started paying attention to politics during the 2020 election and realized the power behind his plan to vote for Trump.
I support Trump, but I’m a little dissatisfied with the way his campaign is operating. I feel like Kamala is not the right person for the job, and I feel like both sides are very party-centric overall.
In 2016, it felt like Trump was a voice for independents and opposed to both establishment parties.
There is no independent voice now and that is demoralizing to me. It feels like a return to this chaotic normalcy with two major political parties that are trying to get us into war and don’t care about the people of this country. Masu.
Melina wants to vote for a candidate who focuses on abortion access and climate change. She feels Harris is her best bet.
When the election came around, things became very difficult. Especially on social media, there is a lot of information coming in.
Before Harris was nominated, I was still adamant about voting for Joe Biden. Because I felt that many of the rights that I feel are important would be prioritized under the Biden administration. But I’m even more proud to stand behind Harris now.
We may have our first female president.
Lydia’s biggest issue in this election is abortion. She travels across the country encouraging young people to vote for anti-abortion candidates and policies.
Candidates who are not willing to protect unborn children cannot be trusted. If they can’t protect our newborns, I don’t think they can protect any of us.
I’m voting for Trump. Because he is the most pro-life candidate and the most lives will be saved under him.
This election is extremely heated, and I feel that strongly too. As members of Generation Z, we know that we are the target of both candidates. I have been focused on shifting our generation to vote pro-life first.
Simon moved to the United States from Britain in 2011 and previously supported Trump, but said he was unable to vote at the time.
Since the 2016 election, everything seems more divided.
One of the things I regret about the UK system is the viable third parties. Now there’s a left and a right, and there’s almost nothing in the middle.
Breakups are pretty upsetting because there’s no end in sight.
At this stage, I support Mr. Harris. Indeed, on a personal level, there is little that I find appealing about Trump, and nothing about his policies that would make me want to vote for him.
Devin’s interest in politics began after watching the riot at the Capitol on January 6th. That’s what’s going through her mind as she casts her first vote.
Although my family has opposite feelings to me when it comes to politics, I’ve always been able to discuss things civilly.
I feel like I can’t have a more civil conversation right now, which is not something I necessarily imagined.
President Trump has incited this conflict, and his unpleasantness is to some extent borne out by his policies.
It wouldn’t be so bad if he was removed from candidate selection.
Although Allie feels nervous about this election cycle, she feels strongly about voting for Trump for the first time.
Just bringing up anything related to the election will cause discussion with many people.
I’m voting for Trump in the fall because I agree with his beliefs and policies, and I’m drawn to his storytelling and charisma.
Both Trump and Vance have something that draws me to their stories.
I want my voice to be heard.
North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher explains the race for the White House in his weekly U.S. Elections Unspin newsletter.
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