New MTV/USA Today Poll: Young Voters Engaged in the 2008 Election

On Monday, MTV, USA Today, and Gallup released a new poll on young voter attitudes toward the presidential candidates and the upcoming election. The survey confirmed the primary finding of the recent Rock the Vote poll: young voters are engaged in the political process more than ever, with 75% indicating that they are already registered to vote.

Young people are aware of the unique nature of the 2008 race. Over two-thirds of the 18-29 year olds surveyed indicate that they have given quite a lot of thought to this year’s contest between John McCain and Barack Obama. More than 80% feel that this is one of the most important elections of the last fifty years. And no matter who wins the White House, young people believe the new president will have a measurable impact on their lives.

On the issues, young voters don’t differ much from the electorate as a whole. 30% of registered young people listed the economy as the single most important issue this November, while 13% named the war in Iraq. When asked to list all issues influencing their decision, health care/insurance, foreign affairs, and energy/gas prices also made the list.
However, despite concerns about the economy and the war, young voter attitudes toward the future reflect the generally upbeat perspective the Millennial Generation use to greet almost every other area of their lives. In the poll, 67% of respondents reported feeling very or somewhat optimistic about the country’s future.

Of course, the MTV/USA Today survey also produced interesting findings on the presidential candidates. When asked who they would prefer to have a beer with (52% - 27%), have as a teacher in class (65% - 27%), have as a boss (63% - 28%), or ask for advice (51% - 36%), young people preferred Obama over McCain. However, this doesn’t mean they’re not interested in John McCain: when asked whose private diary they would most like to read, respondents chose McCain over Obama by 43% to 39%.

Finally, on the most important question 26 days out from Election Day, the news was good for the Democrats. Young people identified themselves as Democrats/Democratic-leaning over Republican/Republian-leaning by a 2-1 margin. And if the election was held today, 61% would vote for Barack Obama, while 32% would cast their ballot for John McCain.

On the edge

I got a note in my inbox yesterday about an interesting new report - "Young People: Living on the Financial Edge," from Qvisory and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.

We all know the economy's in the tank right now, but hardly anyone ever talks about how this has an impact on young adults.

It makes sense, though, that a bad economy is especially rough on 18 to 35 year olds. We're on our own, not making much money, probably (definitely) in debt, and going through all those milestones in life - kids, car, moving, marriage, house, etc. - that take a toll.

I think most pundits and politicos think of the "youth vote" as a bunch of freewheeling college kids living off their parents' largess and bothered by problems no bigger than their next exam (or beer).

This report is a good reminder that the youth vote is so much more than that - we're college students, yes (many of whom are working their butts off, by the way), but we're also young moms and dads, blue-collar workers, recent graduates, recent immigrants, and multi-job workers. We're rural, urban, and suburban. We're single, married, and divorced. We've got kids, we've got mortages, we've got debt, and we've got responsibilities.

What are '08 candidates going to do about our economic troubles if they're elected? To make sure that today's young adults have the same - or better - opportunities that our parents and grandparents had?

I'd like to know what you want them to do. On the presidential level, both campaigns (McCain here, Obama here) have a set of priority issues laid on out their websites - what do you think? Do agree with these ideas? What would you like to see the candidates talking about?

Leave your thoughts in the comments.