The Minnesota Governor and Vice Presidential candidate visited Atlanta, Georgia on Sept. 18 to connect with young people for National Voter Registration Day.
Democratic Vice Presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz visited Atlanta, Georgia this Tuesday for a series of visits to interact with student voters and highlight National Voter Registration Day. Among these stops was the Atlanta University Center, where Walz visited two businesses and discussed the critical nature of the November election with students.
Walz arrived at the AUC with a greeting from a crowd of students representing Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morris Brown College, and Clark Atlanta University. He then met the owners of Be. Coffee Tea Wine and 44th and 3rd Bookseller, black-owned small businesses nestled within Lee Street, before proceeding into the cafe to address students.
Inside of Be. Coffee Tea Wine, Walz was introduced by Spelman student Ariana Levin, the Young Democrats of Georgia Black Caucus Chair. Levin expressed her belief to the crowd in the impact a Harris-Walz administration could have on younger generations.
“I know there is no team better to move our country forward and build a nation where my generation will not just get by, but get ahead,” Levin stated. “As young people our voices are powerful. This election is our chance to choose the vision for the future that we want.”
Walz echoed this conviction in his speech to the crowd, emphasizing the Harris-Walz campaign’s theme of choosing freedom.
“It’s about freedom,” Walz stated. “The freedom to make your own healthcare decisions. Freedom to choose the life that you choose to live. Freedom to choose the career you want to by not being strapped with student loan debt but by having the skills necessary. Those are real freedoms.”
In his address, Walz expressed his gratitude to the students for their engagement and willingness to participate in the democratic process.
“For you to be here, to show that you care about this, to be engaged in the system, it shows your respect for the democracy,” Walz told the crowd.
He went on to talk about platform points such as reproductive freedom, alleviating student debt, and investing in the middle class. While referencing Vice President Harris’ HBCU background, Walz spoke to the historic nature of her candidacy and the need for young people to encourage voter participation in their communities.
“I think for all of us there is a moment in time to understand what’s happening here. And I think I feel it especially amongst young people. They recognize what it means, what this candidacy means,” Walz stated. “And I think for all of us now, our job is to make sure we’re getting folks to the polls. We’re getting them out there to vote. We’re telling them why it matters.”
With a day of campaigning targeting college-age voters, Walz remained clear in the messaging that engaging young voters is necessary for a Harris-Walz victory in November. The influence of young voters will make even more of a difference in Georgia, which went red during Former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign but flipped blue in 2020 to help President Joe Biden win the White House.
“We know that if we get the votes out, it’s going to come to a couple states,” Walz told the crowd at Be. “And you hear it all the time, it’s going to come right through Georgia.”
Walz arrived in Atlanta at 1:00pm and was greeted at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport by Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Fulton County Chairman Rob Pitts, and Clayton County Chairman Jeff Turner. Prior to arriving in the AUC, he made multiple stops at Georgia Institute of Technology, including visiting the campus bookstore, ordering food in the John Lewis Student Center, and speaking to a crowd of students at Rocky Mountain Pizza Company.
At Rocky Mountain Pizza Company, Walz shared a similar sentiment with students about the importance of promoting voting in their community. He also spoke on prevalent topics including gun violence, healthcare, and peaceful transfer of power.
“To each of you, as an American, thank you for believing in our democracy,” Walz said to the Georgia Tech students.
“But for believing that our politics can be something bigger. It can be something more positive. It can be something that all of us can be proud to be a part of.”
With just 49 days until the general election and Georgia’s October 7th voter registration deadline quickly approaching, Walz implored students to keep up their momentum through November.
“All gas, no brakes for 49 days,” Walz told the crowd in the AUC. “Finish this thing now. And think about how you’re going to feel when you wake up on that 50th day and we do get to say ‘Congratulations Madam President.’”
