NY2K: Political Attitudes of Young Americans

Introduction

The second in a series of national youth opinion polls conducted by Hamilton College students and faculty
Complete Report

Major Findings

• In contrast to many suggestions that 18-24 year olds are alienated from politics, the survey shows most young people are involved in and aware of politics. For example, 88.1 percent of those surveyed said that they were registered to vote and 76.9 percent said that they were likely to vote in national elections. 61.7 percent said that they followed political news some of the time and 29.4 percent said that they followed it all of the time.

• Sizeable minorities also indicated even more extensive links to politics. 29.1 percent said that they have considered going into politics and 22.4 percent said that they had volunteered for a political campaign.

• 95 percent of young people surveyed indicated that issues were very important in deciding how they would vote. In contrast, only small minorities said celebrity endorsements (2.2 percent), the candidates' race (5.2 percent), or the candidates' physical appearance (6.2 percent) were very important to them.

• Given the importance of issues to young people, education was by far their greatest concern (27.1 percent), followed by Social Security (9.0 percent), and abortion (4.5 percent).

• When asked about various reasons for young peoples' lack of political participation, 33.6 percent strongly agreed that politicians did not pay enough attention to young peoples' concerns, and 32.1 percent strongly agreed that negative campaigning turned off young people. In contrast, only 7.2 percent strongly agreed that young people found politics too complicated, and only 15.2 percent strongly agreed that young people were too apathetic.

• Our survey also profiled the young people most involved in politics and those least involved. To determine these categories, respondents were asked a series of questions about their attachment to politics. They were:

1. Are you registered to vote?
2. Are you likely to vote in national elections?
3. Have you considered going into politics?
4. How often do you follow political news?
5. Have you ever volunteered for a political campaign?
   

Based on their responses to these questions, respondents could score anywhere from 5 to 12 points, with 5 being the most engaged in politics and 12 being the least engaged in politics. "Civics" were those most involved with politics and included those respondents who scored 5 or 6. This included 83 respondents or 20.5 percent of the sample. "Disengaged" were those least involved in politics and included those who scored 9 or more. This included 90 respondents or 22.4 percent of the sample.

• "Civics" were more likely to be men (62.7 percent) than women (37.3 percent), while the "Disengaged" were 58.9 percent women and 41.1 percent men.
  
  
• "Civics" were more likely to belong to a political party (77.1 percent) than the "Disengaged," most of whom (58.9 percent) considered themselves independents or weren't sure about their political affiliation.
  
  
• Nearly all the "Civics" (92.8 percent) had at least some college, compared to only 68.9 percent of the "Disengaged."
  

• When asked about possible methods to increase the political participation of young people, 72.9 percent believed having politicians pay more attention to young peoples' issues would help a lot, and 70.4 percent encouraged more education about politics in the schools.

• The survey indicated that Green Party candidate Ralph Nader has a relatively strong appeal among young people. When asked for whom they would vote in a race with all candidates on the ballot, 11.7 percent supported Nader. Nader's support jumped to 21.1 percent among those who declared themselves as political independents or unsure about their party affiliation.

• Overall, in a question that asked who they would vote for in the Presidential election, George W. Bush led with 44.5 percent, with 32.8 percent for Al Gore, and 1.5 percent for Pat Buchanan.
  

• When asked which politician the individual favored, Bill Clinton (7.9%), George W. Bush (7.1 percent), Ralph Nader (6.3 percent), Al Gore (4.2 percent), and Jesse Ventura (4.2 percent) were ranked the highest among young voters.

• The survey also found a sizable difference among young people according to their party. For example, 19.4 percent of Democrats and 22.4 percent of independents said that a candidate's gender was at least somewhat important to them, compared to 37.3 percent of Republicans. When asked about a candidate's sexual orientation, 23.2 percent of Democrats and 36.1 percent of independents said that this was at least somewhat important, compared to 88 percent of Republicans. When asked about a candidate's religion, 26.5 percent of Democrats and 28.8 percent of independents said that this was at least somewhat important, compared to 65 percent of Republicans.

Conclusion