The 35-year-old man, who was working in Oakland, California, before the move, said he was a registered Republican until the early 20s. But even when he changed his mind politically, he says he didn’t normally vote.
That changed when he came to the East Coast.
“Since I’m not in California anymore, I can’t hide behind, ‘Oh, it’s a blue state,'” said Lu, who grew up in Los Angeles. “Now I have to put my words into action.”
“New residents have played a key role, not only in our demographic change, but also in what is possible with our policy, and soon with politics,” said Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, a non-partisan electoral registration group. .
“This influx of people arriving in our state, not just from all over the country, but from all over the world, just highlighted Georgia as a melting pot (cosmopolitan), meeting place in the Far South.”
Newcomers have only been part of the equation – and experts say it is difficult to say how big the influence they had on Georgia’s turn.
What experts know, however, is that many new residents are more likely to vote for the blue.
“We know that the strongest Republican voters are people who have been in Georgia for more than 20 years,” said Charles Bullock, professor of political science at the University of Georgia in Athens. “Individuals who have been in Georgia for less time are more likely to be Democrats.”
Who are the newcomers
While it is difficult to track who the newcomers are, Bullock says Georgia’s voter lists offer clues.
“We know that a million new voters have registered since 2016,” said Bullock, adding that the number does not necessarily mean that all new voters were newcomers, but that number probably also includes new residents.
About two-thirds of those voters were minorities, he said. Half of them were under 35, added Bullock.
“We know that voters in minority groups are more Democrats than Republicans and that young voters are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans,” he said. “So, sort of triangulating everything we can say, ‘Okay, the people who are moving here are bringing not only their furniture, but also their partisanship. And many of them are bringing Democratic inclinations.”
Most of the newcomers are black, Ufot of the New Georgia Project said.
Many are black Americans, going backwards in the reversal of the Great Migration – a period approximately between the 1920s and 1970s, when many blacks left the South, fleeing racial violence and in search of better job opportunities.
“That’s why blacks in Chicago have their roots in Mississippi, blacks in New York and New Jersey have their roots in the Carolinas and Georgia,” said Ufot. “Now these people are … returning to the South or their children are, their descendants are.”
Others are African and Caribbean immigrants, who have recently become American citizens, she said.
“But, to be clear, it’s not just black voters,” said Ufot. “We are also talking about a significant flow of AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific islands) and Latin American Georgians.”
With the changes taking place, Bullock says the Republican leadership in the state is “beginning to wake up to the challenges they will face”.
“That with younger voters, those voters with greater ethnic diversity, the warning signs are out there that if Republicans don’t come up with broader and more comprehensive policies, yes, they can still control the legislature now … but their long term positions are becoming dangerous. “
“There will be serious reflection on the leadership of the Republican Party in terms of how they want to present themselves.”
Because they are coming
In his southern policy course, Bullock said he no longer divides the region between Deep South and Rim South (the peripheral states) for his students, as he used to do.
“Now, what I tell my students is that it no longer captures things in terms of partisanship,” he said. “What we are talking about now in my class is the growth of the South versus the stagnant South.”
Georgia falls into the first category – one of several east coast states in addition to Texas – that are growing and attracting more investment.
“In the stagnant parts of the South, where people are leaving or (have) very slow growth, in those areas – like Alabama, Arkansas, for example – the Republican Party is still growing, as opposed to the Democratic Party starting to stage a comeback” said Bullock.
Transplants are coming for all kinds of reasons. Many, like Lu, move because of job opportunities. But it’s not just work: the state also offers an attractive housing market and a more affordable lifestyle, unlike other populous areas of the country where the cost of living has skyrocketed.
Diana Gu, a 29-year-old from Florida, settled in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta, Fulton County – a heavily blue part of the state – after spending months jumping around different parts of the country to conduct botanical and wild life.
“I wanted to find a full-time job somewhere that was affordable,” she said. “Somewhere that was more diverse, and somewhere that looked new, but also homey, I think. And Atlanta fit all of those things.”
Expanding populations are making a difference.
“If you look to see where Democrats are starting to return, well, Virginia is already a blue state,” said Bullock. “Florida voted Democrat for President … three of the last seven elections. North Carolina has a Democratic governor.”
What they care most about
Newcomers’ priorities, said Ufot, are often no different than many long-time residents also want: safe communities, clean air and water, accessible health, access to quality education and reliable transportation.
“I think A, they want the things that everyone wants for them and their families and B, they are no longer … interested in any kind of buzzwords or excuses about how things are here.”
“And therefore, it contributed to putting pressure on the responsibility of our elected officials.”
“It was a kind of warning,” said Gu.
She estimates that she waited in line for about three or four hours to vote at that time. She voted again during the presidential election and has already cast her vote for the second round of January.
Last year’s harrowing experiences – everything from the racial unrest of the summer to the devastating Covd-19 pandemic – are still fresh in her mind and issues she cares about deeply.
“The first thing on my mind would be police brutality,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget what last year looked and felt like in terms of going to protests and just what I saw out there.”
Young voters like Gu are encouraged by similar issues, said Helen Butler, executive director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, a nonprofit organization that works to register and mobilize voters across the state.
Butler, who has been involved in voter registration efforts for more than two decades, analyzes voters based on age, ethnicity and gender. She said the 18- to 35-year-old group “this time played a tremendous role in terms of participation”.
These populations now understand how public policies immediately impact their lives, she said, in everything from criminal justice, health and education. And they were fueled by the pandemic and demonstrations against police killings, she added.
“I think it really encouraged them to engage and really helped to change the landscape,” she said. “Were there new people involved? Yes, because I know they are new citizens, especially as we do voter registration and naturalization ceremonies, and you see that they are so excited to be able to exercise their right to vote for the first time. “
For Lu, the stakes are high.
And himself a former public school student, he is also concerned about having a strong education system, something he said he was not confident about during the Trump administration.
“It is like death by a thousand cuts,” he said. “It seems that no matter where you go, there is an important issue and the stakes are always high.”
It is this sense of urgency, he said, that takes him to the polls.