New Young Voter Polling

The latest volume of Rock the Vote's Polling Young Voters is available. Key findings are below and the full report is available here. (PDF)

Key findings:

• Young voters are attuned to the presidential debates - 77% report watching them, compared to 64% of voters of all ages. (Pew Research Center)
• In the primary races, young Democrats are most heavily in favor of Clinton and Obama; young Republicans are leaning toward Giuliani, Romney and Thompson. Many on both sides of the aisle have yet to make up their minds. (Rasmussen, NH Institute of Politics, CBS/NY Times)
• When asked with which political party they identify, 32-42% identify as Republican or Republican-leaning and 37-49% identify as Democratic or Democratic-leaning. (RT Strategies, Democracy Corps, Rasmussen)
  

For more, see Polling Young Voters VII.

Have You Watched Your Daily Dose of YouTube Yet?

A new Pew Internet and American Life Project survey reports that 19% of all internet users watch video clips online daily, while 57% watch video online at least occasionally. Not surprisingly, those aged 18-29 are "among the most voracious video viewers," with approximately 31% of them viewing online video daily. Additionally, on any given day, young adult internet users "are equally as likely to view news and comedy" videos, though the popular clips from the Daily Show or the Colbert Report blur the lines between the two. It appears that the Baltimore Sun, which re-christened the Millennials "the YouTube Generation," wasn't too off base. Given this new research which validates the popularity of user-generated online video as well as the success of the YouTube/CNN debates, it'll be very interesting to see how online video blends with politics in the future.

Stop Reading Polls

It seems everyone and every agency is trying to pinpoint who the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates will be some five months before the primary season begins. Though this is normal behavior, a New Hampshire news article suggests that polls may not be indicative of any certain outcome. Building on previously mentioned issues with polling, the latest UNH Survey Center presidential primary poll suggests that most New Hampshire voters--both Republicans and Democrats--have not made a final decision on which candidate they will support in the 2008 primaries. However, they DO still respond to their currently-favored candidate when pollsters call their homes rather than claim themselves as undecided, meaning that the poll results may be skewed. This is good news for the campaigns of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Fmr. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), who have both slipped from frontrunners among their party to fourth place in the most recent polls.

New Poll Illuminates Young Voters' Presidential Preferences and Political Bent

A new CBS News/New York Times/MTV poll determined that presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have the most enthusiasm behind them, at least from young voters (17-29 years old); Obama leads Clinton by one percentage point with 18% of the support, while former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani is third with only 4%. Additionally, nearly 75% of the young Americans interviewed said they were already registered to vote, and the rest planned to register prior to the 2008 election; they also listed the economy and the war in Iraq as their top concerns, followed by education and the environment.

According to the New York Times, young voters are also becoming more liberal: 28% described themselves as such, compared with 20% of the general population, while 27% of young voters called themselves conservative, compared with 32% of the general population. Additionally, 44% said that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, compared with 28% of the public at large. Furthermore, 52% of young voters say that Democrats rather than Republicans come closer to sharing their moral values.

Polling Young Voters

The latest Young Voter Strategies analysis of national polls finds young adults' interest in politics is high and that core national security and pocketbook issues are on their minds - but 19 months before the 2008 election, many young voters haven't decided who they're supporting for president.

Check out the analysis here.

What's on the Minds of (CA) Youth?

A new poll of 600 California residents ages 16 to 22 commissioned by New America Media, found family disintegration and neighborhood violence more distressing to California's teens and young adults than global warming or war.

The survey is one of the first to track down youths -- notoriously difficult survey targets -- solely by cell phone. It found that they are inwardly focused -- on their future marriages, parenthood, homeownership, education and communities.

To see how CA youth size up, read the article about the poll here.

Obama, Giuliani Lead Among Young Voters

The latest Harvard IOP poll of 18-24 year olds came out yesterday. It included questions about ’08 primary candidates, social networking, issues preferences.

Sen. Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani get the most support from young voters, according to the poll. Among young likely Democratic voters, Obama's presidential bid gets 35% support, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 29% and John Edwards with 9%. On the GOP side, Giuliani gets 31% support of young voters, followed by Sen. John McCain at 18% and Mitt Romney at 8%.

You can check out the executive summary and find out more about the poll here.