BLACKSBURG, Va. – A surge of young voters is one of the things that made this presidential election unlike any other.
“I feel that’s why Biden and Kamala were able to win is that they had this huge group of younger voter turnout that supported them a lot,” Virginia Tech student Elizabeth Wells said.
“These are the problems that are probably going to affect us more than anyone else, because, you know, we are the next generation,” Virginia Tech student Luke Dangel said.
“I just hope that we don’t just do this this year, that we keep this trend going,” Virginia Tech student Cameron Rose said.
Many Virginia Tech students 10 News spoke with are celebrating the people who voted just as much as who they voted for.
But with looming legal battles, President Trump said no one should be celebrating just yet. So 10 News asked Chad Hankinson with Virginia Tech’s Department of Political Science what’s next.
“I do expect that the president and his team are going to try to mount these legal challenges and I just don’t see them being successful,” Hankinson said. “So much of what he’s planning on with legal challenge is based on some kind of voter fraud or counting irregularities that just don’t exist.”
Even if the president’s challenges are successful, they wouldn’t do enough to tip the scales in his favor, according to Hankinson.
He said not conceding will however delay Biden’s transition to the White House.
“It’s not going to effectively help to unite the country. This is going to continue to divide people,” Hankinson said.
Meanwhile, those young people making a difference are looking to the future and hoping others will get on board.
“I think it’s a good thing to move on, definitely showing progress and kind of giving me a little hope,” Rose said.
“They need to deliver on those promises and I expect to see change,” Wells said.
“I think we’ve been through a lot of hard times but I think we’re finally heading in the right direction,” Dangel said.