Organizations work to turn out young Georgia voters for midterms: "You want your voice to be heard"

Early voting in Georgia's midterm election continues, and organizations like Rock the Vote are working to ensure every generation has their voice heard at the ballot box.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, more than 1.8 million people, or about 25% of total active voters, have voted early as of Monday afternoon. Of those, more than 85,000 have been between 18 and 24 years old.

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, some students have already cast their ballots. Others are encouraging their friends to do the same.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little push. For Georgia Tech student Mannan Singh, that push came from his girlfriend.

"My girlfriend's been telling me to vote early because she's like more woke than me," Singh said.

Now, he's spreading the word himself.

"She votes early, and it encourages me to also go vote early, and like I tell my friends I'm voting early," he said. "I post it on my story and stuff like that."

On campus, some students are leading by example. Freshman Hannah Reine cast her first ballot on the first day of early voting.

"It's definitely a big thing for me. I've been telling all my friends. We've been doing early voting in the student center. I've been making sure people are registered," Reine said.

Conversations like the ones Singh and Reine had are exactly the kind Rock the Vote wants to support. The organization is working to get more young people engaged in the midterm elections.

Atlanta native Andrew Aydin worked alongside the late Congressman John Lewis. Now, as a strategic advisor to Rock the Vote, he says getting young people to the polls is one thing - but making sure they're ready is another.

"One of the biggest problems is that the rules are always changing. We've seen examples where their voters have been listed as inactive. And so we've been pushing very hard to make sure that young people check their registration status before they go to the polls," Aydin said.

For Singh, it comes down to making sure his generation has a say.

"Especially being young, you want your voice to be heard. You want our age group to be represented in the public stage," he said.

It's a message he's passing along one friend at a time.

Georgia Tech held early voting on campus for two days in mid-October. Voters of all ages have until Friday to cast an early ballot.