KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 2020 will be the first time many young people can vote in a presidential election.
Some first-time voters told 41 Action News they plan to watch Tuesday's presidential debate and want to hear the candidates' stances on a few key issues.
University of Kansas freshman and first-time voter Raina Peter said she's most interested in hearing about the coronavirus pandemic.
"Along with listening to Biden's criticism of Trump's current strategy, I think it will also be extremely important for him (Biden) to outline his strategy going forward," Peter said. "The steps that he's going to take to recover the economy, which is important to a lot of voters, the steps that he's going to take to prevent the spread of the disease and so on."
Peter said she also is interested in the discussion about filling the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.
"The Supreme Court justices last an extremely long time, so if Trump and the Republicans are able to get in their nomination that will make the court 6-3 conservative, which will obviously be impactful for people my age," Peter said.
Jack Still, William Jewell College senior and first-time voter, is part of a campus group that encourages students to get involved in the voting process.
"I think no matter what side you're on, there's something a little different about this election," Still said. "It feels really important."
Still said he hopes the candidates focus on policy during Tuesday's debate.
"What we're going to be doing to help the economy recover, help people get more jobs or get their jobs back, what we're going to do about healthcare," Still said.
Peter and Still both hope other young people will tune in to the debate Tuesday night and realize their vote matters.
"It's a very cool thing to know that I'm going to be able to contribute with my vote in some way," Still said, "that I have that opportunity to be represented."
