WASHINGTON — As protests and calls for change continue, political researchers explained it is important for voters to remain focused on upcoming elections.
Terrance Woodberry, partner of HIT Strategies in Washington, D.C., and his team conduct polling and focus groups among young voters, voters of color, and women voters.
Woodberry said the three voting groups, which have been involved in protests for racial equality, could make or break elections this fall.
"It really gave me a chance to see in representation what I’ve been hearing from young voters and black voters in focus groups across the country," he said. "(There's) a sense of frustration, a sense of cynicism toward the political process, and a sense that they’ve be participating in a transaction or social contract that they have not been getting their end of the bargain on."
Woodberry found young people are among the largest and most influential group of voters.
According to HIT Strategies' poll, young voters are not consistent in voting in presidential elections. Results showed that while most young voters support progressive issues, most of them are not Democrats.
"In the states where we see the biggest uprising -- states like Pennsylvania, like Virginia, like Wisconsin -- these are states where Donald Trump was able to pull out victories by laser thin margins," Woodberry said.
He further explained the reason for those thin margins was because many black people did not vote in some of those battleground states.
"I think when we see that drop-in support amongst black men in many ways, and many times, it is the same black men that are making their voices heard in these protests today. It is black men who do not feel like they are advancing their priorities and advancing the issues in their communities by voting. They’re trying to find other political ways to achieve those goals," Woodberry said.
Trump had a large amount of support from white women in the last presidential election which played a significant role in his win, according to Woodberry.
He said the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, will have to swing some of those voters his way in order to win.