Jayda Cheaves is facing questions about her voting history after telling followers she hasn’t voted since Barack Obama, even though she was too young to legally vote during either of his presidential elections.
The influencer, also known as Jayda Wayda, recently shared a video encouraging people to participate in the 2026 midterm elections. However, one statement about her own voting history has sparked questions about whether she got her timeline mixed up.
“I have not voted since Barack Obama,” Jayda said at the beginning of the video.
There’s just one problem with that timeline. Jayda Cheaves was born on September 25, 1997, according to biographical information published by Famous Birthdays and Rotten Tomatoes.
Barack Obama was first elected president on November 4, 2008, when Jayda was just 11 years old. He won reelection on November 6, 2012, when she was 15.
Federal voting requirements are clear. Americans must be at least 18 years old by Election Day to vote in a presidential general election. That means Jayda would not have been legally eligible to cast a ballot in either of Obama’s presidential victories.
The age discrepancy creates a factual problem with her suggestion that her last voting experience dates back to Obama’s elections.
Why jayda wayda lying ass say she hasn’t voted since obama btch wasnt even old enough
— TAKE (@leaveempissed00) October 28, 2026
While she never explicitly stated that she cast a ballot for Obama, saying she had not voted since his presidency naturally raised questions about when she actually began participating in elections.
The comments supplied in accounts of the controversy include reactions questioning the math behind her statement. However, the original posts containing those specific reactions have not been independently authenticated.
Jayda Cheaves made the statement while explaining why she decided to become more politically engaged ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
“I made it my business this year to vote, Congress, just because I know that our vote actually does matter,” she explained.
She also discussed her previous doubts about the presidential election process, particularly the Electoral College, which determines the outcome of presidential elections based on electoral votes awarded through the states.
jayda said she hasn’t voted since obama….but she was only 11 years old when he ran for president? https://t.co/kvPe5OgY51
— joshua. (@livingthroughJ) October 28, 2026
“Now, presidential votes, it does get a little tricky because it has to go through multiple different layers of votes before they even consider our, our votes, but that’s neither here or there,” she said.
Under the Electoral College system, voters in each state help determine which presidential candidate receives that state’s electoral votes. Individual ballots therefore remain part of the process, even though the national popular vote does not directly determine the winner.
Jayda credited her grandmother with encouraging her to become more informed about elections.
“I think voting is important,” she said. “I think it’s something that we should all partake.”
She explained that her grandmother called several weeks earlier and warned her not to take the upcoming election lightly.
That conversation reportedly prompted Jayda to research political issues and reconsider her previous attitude toward voting.
Jayda hate Ari so bad she got up here and lied about being able to vote for Obama😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
— 𝐉✰𝐙𝐋𝐘𝐍 (@jazlynfaiithh) October 28, 2026
She also admitted that she sat out the 2024 presidential election when Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee.
“And I, I take so much accountability because when Kamala was in office, I literally put in my head like there’s no way they’re letting a black woman be president, so why would I waste my time?” Jayda explained.
She questioned whether her decision to stay home had been the right one.
“But like what if. My vote actually made a difference, you know what I’m saying, so you can’t be like that.”
Her reflection on Harris’s unsuccessful campaign was intended to explain why she no longer wants to assume that election outcomes are predetermined.
Jayda also described her experience reading ballot amendments, admitting that some of the wording was difficult to understand.
She encouraged followers to pay attention to ballot questions rather than rushing through decisions they might not fully understand.
The 2026 midterms will determine all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, along with regularly scheduled Senate contests and numerous state and local races.
As for Jayda Cheaves’ claim about not voting since Obama, the publicly reported dates establish that she was underage during both of his elections. They do not establish whether she was referring to supporting Obama, remembering his presidency, or simply misstating when she last voted.
