'Environmental justice and economic mobility matter the most to me': Insights from a young voter

WNYC News

An estimated 8 million Americans will come of age to vote by the November election. WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk recently collaborated with the group YVote to gather insights from young people who can cast a ballot in a presidential race for the first time this year. In this segment, we hear from Upper East Side resident Mukilan Muthukumar.

The transcript of Mukilan Muthukumar: story has been lightly edited for clarity.

Mukilan Muthukumar:

I'm 18 years old, and I'm from the Upper East Side. This election is going to be the first time I vote. I'm really excited to vote because my parents are both immigrants, so they never voted. One of the biggest issues for me is just like the stability of democracy in our country.

So much has happened in the election, and there have been so many turns. With Biden dropping out and Harris entering the race, it feels like, at least among young people, there's a new energy. I think for me, environmental justice and economic mobility matter the most to me. For environmental justice, I've done a lot of work with YVote and the NYC Youth Agenda, which is our policy advocacy wing, around things like cooling centers and green spaces. Then, with economic mobility, I think that crosses over into so many issues in our city, whether that be immigration or housing, and just making the city a sustainable place to live for the next generations.

What I expect and want to hear from candidates and elected officials is a real interest in representing young people and taking into account the issues and concerns that they have. I think with some of the elected officials, they praise our work, and like praise the fact that we're young people involved in this work, but they don't actually pay attention to the policy recommendations, or like show any real interest in hearing us and trying to work with us.

Generally, I am feeling a bit more optimistic, but my hope is just that, like, as someone who's interested in politics and interested in political activism that no matter what happens in November people continue to be politically engaged and fight for the little wins that will make a difference in the long term.