People are talking about you today, young voters. Seems like there is a lot of polling out there about whether or not you plan to vote in 2010. To wit…
Check out this story about a recent poll from the Harvard Institute on Politics that found more enthusiasm to vote in 2010 among younger Republicans than younger Democrats. (Of course, there are more young people who self-identify as progressive or Democratic than conservative or Republican, but the only score that matters is who shows up at the polls.) From “Young Republicans are ready to rock the vote” (catchy headline!):
More young John McCain supporters than Obama supporters are preparing to go to the polls in November, according to the survey. While 44 percent of Obama supporters said they’d “definitely” be voting, 53 percent of Sen. McCain’s (R-Ariz.) supporters said they planned to go to the polls. The poll found 35 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of Republicans intended to vote.
Or you can take a look at the new Gallup poll, which found that 44 percent of 18 to 29 year olds are not enthusiastic about voting:
One potential problem for Democrats is the lower enthusiasm about voting among young Americans. Twenty percent of registered voters aged 18 to 29 say they are very enthusiastic about voting this November. That compares with 31% to 39% of older age groups who are very enthusiastic.
Or you can check out the column by Robert Samuelson (who is often wrong and totally out of touch, in my humble opinion) in the Washington Post, which asks if the Millennials will become the “chump” generation?
Millennials could become the chump generation. They could suffer for their elders’ economic sins, particularly the failure to confront the predictable costs of baby boomers’ retirement. This poses a question. In 2008, Millennials voted 2 to 1 for Barack Obama; in surveys, they say they’re more disposed than older Americans to big and activist government. Their ardor for Obama is already cooling. Will higher taxes dim their enthusiasm for government?
OK for now. Carry on.
Tags: harvard, millenials, polling
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Thomas Bates Bio: Thomas is Rock the Vote's Vice President of Civic Engagement. @BatesThomas Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
