Results of the latest “Survey of Young American’s Attitudes” poll of America’s 18- to 29- year-olds by Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP), located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government was released on April 29th. Findings include:
- Less than one-in-four (23%) young Americans say they will “definitely be voting” in November, a sharp drop of 11 percentage points from five months ago (34%).
- Among the most likely voters, traditional Republican constituencies show more enthusiasm than Democratic ones for participating in the upcoming midterms, with 44 percent of 2012 Mitt Romney voters saying they will definitely be voting
- There are differences in opinions on legalization of marijuana by political party, race and age.
- President Obama’s job approval rating has improved (47%) from a historic low noted five months ago (41%: Nov. 2013).
- Sixty-four percent (64%) of Millennials overall and a solid majority of young Democrats and Republicans believe that the gap between “the rich and everyone else in America” is greater today than when they were born. A majority (52%) said they consider this gap to be a major problem, while an additional 20 percent consider the issue to be a minor problem (13%: “not a problem”; 14%: “unsure”).
- Millennials’ level of trust in most American institutions tested in IOP polling continues to decline, even below historically low numbers seen last spring. Over the past twelve months, trust in: the President has decreased from 39 to 32 percent; the U.S. military has decreased from 54 to 47 percent (the first time below a majority); and the Supreme Court has dipped from 40 to 36 percent.
“It’s been clear for some time now that young people are growing more disillusioned and disconnected from Washington,” said Harvard Institute of Politics Polling Director John Della Volpe. “There’s an erosion of trust in the individuals and institutions that make government work — and now we see the lowest level of interest in any election we’ve measured since 2000. Young people still care about our country, but we will likely see more volunteerism than voting in 2014.”
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