Voters hold watch party at UNF during first presidential debate

Voters at the University of North Florida held a watch party for the first presidential debate Monday night.

Voters raised comments and concerns including jobs, health care and taxes -- which caught their attention during the debate.

Several times, each candidate urged their opponent to do some fact checking.

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and republican candidate Donald Trump discussed their ideas on taxes and jobs, two topics that students at the UNF were paying close attention to.

Florida is considered a battleground state and Politico has ranked Duval County one of the top 25 battleground counties in the nation this election.

“I think it’s very important to get us involved, because it’s affecting our generation,” said democrat Astrid Scott. “We are the next generation, so if we’re not knowledgeable of what’s going on in our community, it can either go really well, or go really bad.”

Some students voiced their opinion of the candidates, including Trump-supporter Robert Woltman.

“I’m supporting his ideals, portions of it,” Woltman said. “I think his ideas are more in line of what this country needs, more than what Hillary Clinton’s ideas are.”

Other students, like independent Abubakr Hashsan, said both candidates are very close.

“The election will come down to a few votes in a few swing states,” Hashsan said. “And I happen to be living in one of the most important swing states in the country, so obviously my vote will have an impact.”

Action News Jax reached out to the Board of Elections office in Duval County and the office is expecting voter registration to go up this election among young voters in comparison to the last election.

Cox Media Group