It’s done not It’s all good, boomers – at least not in the eyes of America’s youngest voters.
Many people under 30 believe that their elders left them a more dangerous world, with a worse environment and fewer opportunities.
These younger voters are a more diverse group than older generations, and unlike America’s oldest voters, they believe politics would also be better with more diversity.
They have already faced challenges. They were disturbed by COVID: the youngest of them were in high school or university during confinement and now say that their education was interrupted. And, far more than older generations, many look back and describe growing up with concerns about gun violence.
Today, most of them have the feeling that it has become harder to buy a house (current interest rates would suggest that they are right), to raise a family, to get what they consider to be a good job (despite strong national employment figures) or start a business than was the case for previous generations.
But most remain hopeful that they’ll one day achieve the American dream, and chart their own paths along the way: Today, they describe their generation as “creative,” followed by words like “innovative” and “diverse”—so many most important qualities. I think it will eventually help them change the world.
They also focus on different issues than their elders, with more concerns about climate, abortion and promoting that diversity.
Yet despite all these concerns – or perhaps because of them – they do not plan to vote as much as their elders. They think less about election at present, and fewer of them than their older counterparts say they will definitely vote.
So the extent to which they participate or not in 24 may be the most immediate way they shape the future for all of us.
On diversity
The majority of voters under thirty think that politics would be better with more diversity: more minorities, more women in power and (unsurprisingly) more young people.
There are big differences between these views and those of those over 65, far fewer of whom think politics would be better with this diversity – and who grew up in a very different and less diverse America.
How is the age of candidates taken into account in the campaign
Talking about young voters creates a natural contrast with the age of this year’s candidates – which, for some of these young voters, marks an age gap of fifty years or more – and how that affects their opinions.
Half of these young voters believe that the respective ages of the candidates – that of President Biden and former President Donald Trump – make them feel out of touch.
Half of them say neither presidential candidate understands young people…and importantly, when they feel that way, they are relatively less likely to want to vote.
The big question: participation
They have criticisms and problems, but will they come forward? The answer, at least as to their stated intention from here, is not that of their elders.
In fact, among those who voted in 2020, only three-quarters say they definitely will again this time.
This is a higher churn rate than other age groups.
Historically, younger voters don’t vote as much as older voters, so this isn’t unique to today’s younger generation: it’s often about the stage of people’s lives, where they are. root in a community, develop voting habits, get involved or simply have more. it’s time to follow politics as you get older.
That said, only one in five young people believe their generation has much say in the political process – even though, at the same time, many of them are unlikely to vote.
Only a third are thinking much about the presidential race right now.
When asked the reasons why they will not vote, they say that they are not interested, that they do not have time or that the whole system is bad.
Young people are more disappointed with their choices in this race than older people.
But here is another difference. Older voters will vote whether or not they are satisfied with the candidate’s choice; they do it out of long-standing habit, out of party allegiance, or out of duty.
But for young voters, many of whom are unhappy with the choices available to them, candidate satisfaction matters more. When they are unhappy with candidates, they are less likely to run.
A wider range of important questions
For voters under 30, the economy is a major factor in their vote, as it is for all voters, but they are more likely to also include other issues in their calculation, such as abortion, climate and issues of race and diversity. It all comes down to a Biden vote.
Their support percentage today is also not much different than in 2020, although the turnout factor looms because of their impact on Mr. Biden. Currently, young Democrats express comparatively less likelihood of participating than young Republicans.
By comparison, the issues on which Trump does well with older voters – crime, immigration – are comparatively less important to younger voters.
(It’s worth noting that they vote for Mr. Biden when they say diversity is a top issue, but a significant portion of them still think he hasn’t gone far enough to promote it, which is therefore not that they are entirely satisfied with this question President.)
Economy, Opportunity and the American Dream
Their view of today’s economy seems tied to ideas of opportunity, not just everyday finances.
When young people believe they can achieve the American dream (as most do, despite all the challenges they perceive), they are relatively more likely to rate the current economy as good. When they don’t see their dream come true, they say the current economy is bad.
(Also notable in a broader context: young people, still full of optimism, mostly think they can achieve the American dream, and most voters over 65 think they have; it’s actually the people in between, in their most active working years today, who are the most pessimistic about achieving it.)
Fire arms
Most say they grew up concerned about the possibility of gun violence when they were in school, a much higher level of concern than older voters express in hindsight.
This appears to be impacting their positions on gun policy. A majority supports stricter laws regarding gun sales, and that support is even higher among those who grew up concerned about gun violence.
Student Loans
And they are big supporters of canceling student debt. (Biden enjoys significant support from those who do.)
But is it a motivator in itself? It’s less clear. Those who approve of it are no more likely to say they will participate than people in this age group in general.
War
Despite the attention in recent months and protests on college campuses, for the broader group of under-30s, the war between Israel and Hamas ranks well behind the economy, abortion and many others problematic factors.
However, they feel very differently from older Americans, and relatively more of them call for an end to Israeli military action.
Climate
They are more likely to say climate change requires immediate action.
Abortion
If the Biden camp wants to motivate abortion participation, it may have some work to do:
Most young voters want abortion to be legal — as do most voters overall — but they are less likely than older Americans to think Biden would try to pass a national law legalizing it, and more likely than their elders for not knowing what he would do. TO DO.
They are also more likely to think Trump would do nothing, or to be unsure about what Trump would do.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,460 U.S. adults surveyed between June 17 and 21, 2024. The survey included an oversample of adults ages 18 to 29 for a total of 743 adults in this age group. The final sample as reported was weighted to be nationally representative of adults based on gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census of American Community and from the Current Population Survey, as well as the 2020 presidential vote. The margin of error for the total sample is ±2.8 points. The margin of error for the sample of adults aged 18 to 29 is ±5.2 points.