What issues do first-time voters in New York care about?

Between college applications, prom dates and test scores, high school juniors and seniors have a lot to think about. For many American teens, their first election is a big milestone.

In the last few years, younger voters have been fighting against the growing population of seniors in the country to get their voices heard on issues that matter most to them. But young people have historically informed the public not just on pop culture trends, but also on what political issues are most important to the future of the country.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University said that young voter turnout in the 2020 election was possibly the highest young voter turnout since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971.

This year, first-time voters in the Lower Hudson Valley are thinking about what they're seeing in the world today and how they can effect change in their communities.

What are the biggest issues for first-time voters?

If young voters are not spending a lot of time watching the news, they are certainly checking the price of tuition and housing for the schools they want to attend when they graduate and move away from home. Rye Neck student Brian Chin, 17, has his sights set on the University of Chicago next year. He said he's worried about the economy and the cost of education.

Other young voters are thinking about foreign policy and the nation's relationships with other countries. The last time a major war affected the way young people voted was the war in Afghanistan and Iraq under President George W. Bush in the early 2000s. Now, this new generation is watching two global conflicts unfold at the same time: the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.

Rye Neck student Eli Goldman, who is Jewish, said he has family in Israel and worries about the United States' involvement with the war.

Clarkstown High School North student Ritika Pawar, 17, had similar sentiments.

"The Israel-Hamas conflict, it's devastating that this conflict has been going on for so many years and it's been so violent and people have lost so many loved ones," she said.

Immigration is one of the most talked about political issues in Westchester and Rockland this year.

Alex Hahn, 17, a student in the Rockland BOCES criminal justice program, said he's been paying attention to the situation and how it's affecting the Clarkstown community.

What do Gen-Z voters want to see in a political candidate?

Students said they care about the state of the country's political divisions.

Many young women like River View High School student Rachel Patrick, 18, are thinking about their rights to reproductive health and health care after the Supreme Court made a decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last June.

"I'm looking for candidates who support a woman's right to choose and who support LGBTQ+ rights," she said. "It feels a lot like we're regressing in our current political climate, so I'm looking for people who are going to progress into the future."

Holbrook Langley, 17, is a junior at Rye High School and part of the civics club, which encourages teens to register to vote and participate in their government. He said he's concerned about infighting between political parties.

"I feel like there's a lot of partisan division today, so having a candidate, whether it's a presidential candidate or congressional representative that can find common ground and find something people can agree on is extremely important," Langley said.

Hahn said he hopes that the country works together in a more bipartisan manner on important issues.

"I feel like the country is continuing to fall apart as it is and we need to just unite together and agree on some things.

How do young people feel about voting?

Cristopher Jimenez Hernandez, 16, goes to Spring Valley High School and is part of the criminal justice program at Rockland BOCES. He said he doesn't focus much on politics because he worries about how it will affect his mental health.

"I don't really think it helps me mentally to stress about a politician or about other people because I'm just worried about how I'm living," he said. "I don't really talk about politics with my family like that, even though we do talk about what's going on in the world and some things that are going on here.

Heather Novak is the faculty advisor for Pace University's Center for Community Action and Research, which acts as "the intermediary between the university and the community," teaching civic leadership in their communities and professions.

Novak and others at the CCAR have been tabling all semester to get more people registered to vote. Talking to students, she said she's heard sentiments of a broken governmental system for close to two decades.

But while morale may be low among the country's youth, young voter participation has never been more active.

Peter Hansen, a student member of the CCAR from Pearl River, said "It's actually very hard to find someone on this campus who is not registered to vote.

Emmanuel LaCret, 18, is also part of the criminal justice program at Rockland BOCES and a student at Suffern High School. He said, "I think voting is an opportunity for people to choose a strong leader to lead this country into a better future. My voice alone will not be heard but altogether, a change can be made. I want to be part of the community, part of this country. I want to make a change."

Young voters say they feel like as they continue to try and enact change, older generations, especially politicians, seem to push back against new ideas and major societal shifts. Some young people feel downright ignored by political candidates and representatives.

"I think that sometimes it's difficult to feel like one vote matters out of the millions that are counted every year," Clarkstown South High School student Shelby Nordstrom, 17, said. "However, when I think about it in terms of a broader aspect, I realize that my vote will be added to millions of other people's votes, so then I realize that every vote counts and that encourages me to vote."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: First-time voters in New York weigh in on important issues