Discovering Young Voters, Part 4

Welcome to the forth installment in my series about Discovering Young Voters where I shall describe the importance of youth policy and talking about issues that matter most to young people. (See also Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

As I stated before, I wanted to write this series because too often we bypass the introductory level information assuming everyone knows about these things. Therefore, today I'd like to continue the series for entry level topics to create an understanding of why young voters are important and how they impact elections, what are frequent mistakes about young voters, what are attitudes of young voters, youth policy and talking about issues, and how to begin a youth program.

Youth Policy and Issues Important to Young People

The common misconception about young people is that they don't know or care about the issues. This would be a fantasy created by republicans, because, truth be told, Millennials do care about issues and they trend more progressive.

Late last year Rock the Vote did a focus group that detailed findings on issues specific to 18-29 year olds. The powerpoint presentation that can be found on their website says

"The issue environment, at present, hovers around three issues: the war in Iraq, health care, and the economy and pocket book issues. All together, young people focus on these issues at a very personal level (can I get health care, can I afford health care) and on a broader level that pertains their family (health care, the economy, college for friends and family) and the country as a whole (the war).

Another survey this spring by the Harvard Institute of Politics (PDF) details similar findings, but goes into greater detail about ranking of issues. According to their survey of 2,452 voters between 18-24 years old, 40% of them consider themselves a democrat, 25% consider themselves republican and 35% of young voters consider themselves unaffiliated or independent. Of those surveyed 80% say that they will probably or definitely be voting in November.

While many people believe this is due to the Obama Momentum, only 6% said that the reason they plan to vote has anything to do with their particular candidate. Many plan to vote because its their duty, they want to voice their opinion, or we need a new direction and/or to get rid of Bush.

In terms of issues a quarter say that the number one issue for them is the economy. Another number one issue for 20% of those surveyed is Iraq or the War, health care was number one for 9% and the environment was number one for 5%. For more conservative folks out there... immigration was the number one issue for only 3% of young people.

Second most important issue of those surveyed was the economy again... with 20%, Iraq 19%, health care was 11%, and education was 6%. That means that the economy was one of the top two issues for 45% of young voters and Iraq was 39%.

It isn't tough to understand why. Those are the two issues that impact the Millennial Generation the most. For one, its Millennials that are dying in Iraq, and its the weak economy that impacts those graduating in debt today or trying to build a life among the instability.

RTV continues to note

"Young voters are engaged on specific issues that can be used to increase registration and turnout. The war in Iraq, health care and insurance, and the economy are top of mind concerns."

So.. the economy, the war, education, the environment... anything that can have a long term impact on the future of Millennials. Talking to them about issues, asking them what matters in their lives.. this is the best place to begin building a relationship but further learning how to impact policy.

Most importantly.. its not all about college affordability.