“This is not a general youth survey. These are the voters Vice President Biden should pursue, “said Sarah Audelo, executive director of the Alliance for Youth Action, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing youth participation and political engagement.
Commissioned by the Alliance and conducted by data analysis firm Civiqs, the survey surveyed 1,241 young Democrats and independents with a Democratic bias in changing states. It reached registered voters July 18-20 in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Historically, political campaigns have not invested deeply in youth, who turn out at lower rates than older generations, are more likely to identify as independent, and have growing mistrust of government and institutions. Data from groups such as the Alliance and the research organization CIRCLE show that young people are less likely to be contacted by campaigns or obtain voting information. The numbers are even lower for youth with no college experience.
With the pandemic eliminating the most significant in-person contact, Audelo emphasized the need for campaigns targeting Generation Z and Millennium voters with digital outreach to ensure participation.
If elections were held today, the poll found that nearly 90 percent of young Democrats would choose Biden. But it has been well documented that Biden faces an enthusiasm gap, especially with young black voters.
While respondents almost unanimously dislike President Donald Trump, 27 percent also rated Biden somewhat or very unfavorably. That number jumps to 31 percent for younger millennial Democrats and Generation Z Democrats or Democrats.
With Trump’s recent comments about voting by mail, the poll shows that a large portion of these young Democrats intend to vote by mail, though some don’t know how. Only 36 percent say they plan to vote in person, while 43 percent plan to vote by mail. Another 9 percent said they want to vote by mail, but don’t know the rules in their state.
Younger white Democrats (30 percent) are less likely to say they will vote in person than blacks (48 percent) or Latinos (40 percent).
Still, with 2020 being such a tumultuous year, youth vote advocates hope to take advantage of youth’s desire for change, unlocked by the country’s response to Covid-19 and the wave of protests against police killings. and systemic racism.
Voters surveyed named coronaviruses and ending systemic racism and discrimination are their top priorities. Twenty-nine percent of voters chose “underfund the police” as the most important criminal justice reform, the highest of any other initiative.
“Persuasive young voters are highly motivated to vote top-down this year,” said Audelo. “But Vice President Biden has a lot of work to do to win his votes.”
