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Following are the Introduction and Summary of Findings of The Democracy Report, The Youth Vote In 1996 And Beyond. The Heinz Family Foundation and Lake, Sosin, Snell and Associates compiled this report.
INTRODUCTION
"Generation X." The term evokes an image of a nebulous group of young Americans who have defied labels and explanation. Much research has been conducted on the politics and voting labels of the Baby Boomers and the Great Depression cohort; less is known about the "Baby Busters," those born in the 1970s. This report, compiled from two years of quantitative and qualitative research culminating with the 1996 Presidential election, presents an in-depth look at America's youngest voters, 18-24 year olds. It examines their issue concerns, voting habits, political interests, and participation in the election process.
The Democracy Project began as an effort by the Heinz Family Foundation to examine how environmental issues could be used to propel more young people to vote. When preliminary focus-group findings suggested that young people had significant and sometimes unexpected concerns about national politics, the research program was broadened to include additional focus groups, nationwide polling, and a post-election poll in November 1996.
Teresa Heinz chairs the Heinz Family Foundation, which has offices in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Mozambique, which was at that time a dictatorship, Mrs. Heinz is concerned with youth disinterest in politics. "A society that acquiesces to the political disenfranchisement of its young people is courting disaster," she said. "The Democracy Project is an attempt to help keep that from happening."
What has the research for The Democracy Project revealed?
- First, it has confirmed that America's young adults are profoundly disaffected from the political system and the electoral process. In 1996, only about one in three eligible voters in this generation voted, and, for many, the choice not to vote was intentional. Many if these young people see voting as a waste of time—a futile act that has little or no impact on the things they care about.
- Second, it strongly belies the stereotypes of this generation. Far from apathetic, self-absorbed "slackers," members of this generation care deeply about their communities, about eroding moral values and social decay, and, above all, about children.
Indeed, their passion about children is striking, and it is both their fears and concerns for the next generation that offers the best hype for political mobilization.
- Third, it puts forth the suggestion that the path to engagement is not simply electoral reforms that make it easier to register and vote. (Although they can certainly help, and have strong support.) Rather, it is fostering a more vibrant dialogue between young people and political leadership, a dialogue that makes a closer connection between electoral politics and their lives and local neighborhoods. This dialogue is critical to healthy democracy at every level and for every generation, but its importance is painfully apparent among these young voters, who are turning out at an earlier and earlier age.
SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
The Issue Agenda
- Education and economic opportunities.
No matter how it is measured, education is the most important issue for young Americans. Half (49%) say education is one of the most important issues for them personally. It ranks at the top of issues that drove their presidential vote in November (71% rated it a 9or 10 ten on a scale of 1-10).
- Young people's concerns about education have at least two powerful dimensions.
Education is seen as the key to their own economic future. More and more, they believe that good jobs require a college degree. At the same time, the cost of higher education moves college out of reach for many. The combination of a passionate interest in education with the fear that it is out of reach gives this issue tremendous political power.
This generation sees education as the best guarantee of economic opportunities in the future, as well as the best defense against violence. (An educated child will have options other than dealing drugs). This means that young people are as strongly interested in the quality of public schools for children as they are in the cost higher education for themselves.
- Violence and moral decay.
For this generation, concerns about crime and violence extend beyond a fear of personal safety to encompass broader worries about social disarray and decline. Young people fear that violence is keeping children from getting the education they need to become productive citizens. They also feel it is contributing to the decay in moral values. Indeed, concerns about violence, children, and morals are closely interlinked.
- The environment.
Young Americans have strong environmental concerns. They consistently rate the issue as a higher priority than older Americans, with 16% saying the environment ranks first or second of their top concerns.
At the same time, despite their strong feelings about the environment, environmental issues in the abstract are not hurdles that young people face on a daily basis. It seems less urgent to them than bread-and-butter issues. In fact, the environment is one of the few things they see as getting better.
For the most part, this report is descriptive rather than prescriptive. The next step is to transform this compelling portrait of young American voters into a plan for action—a plan that combines new ways of thinking about political communication, about leadership, and about voter registration, and mobilization activities. We look forward to leading the way.
Obstacles to Political Engagement
- Disaffection and alienation.
This generation does not believe the political system addresses their concerns in any meaningful way. In July, among young people who were not registered to vote, twice as many said they didn't want to vote or didn't care enough to vote (34%) as said they intended to register and vote in the November election.
In fact, not voting is a choice for many, given their belief that voting has no impact on what politicians do. As one young man sad, "voting is like deciding whether you want to be shot in the left or right kneecap." In the end, only about one in three eligible voters under age 25 turned out in November.
- Money and special interests.
Politicians, in the view of young people, care little about the people they represent. Instead, they pay the most attention to a variety of special interests: the rich and wealthy (27%); big business (15%); campaign contributors (7%); generic special interests (7%).
- Generation gap.
Half of this generation believes that politicians pay little or no attention to the concerns of young people, and a majority of those without a college education (55%) feel this way. Part of the reason is the average age of political leaders. As a young man in Houston said, "I think that maybe part of the reason that no one seems to be listening to young people is that our leaders haven't been young in a long time." Thus, 61% of young adults believe that Congress would pay more attention to their concerns if the average age of members were 30 instead of 52.
- Political ads.
Traditional political advertising often reinforces the cynicism of this generation. Half (51%) say the negative campaign ads turn them off to politics and make them less likely to vote.
It is notable, however, that the young people with the least information about politics — that is, those without a college education — are least likely to be turned off by negative ads. In fact, these young people are most likely to say that negative ads can provide valuable information.
- Information.
This generation is a difficult one to reach. They pay comparatively little attention to news, whether television or newspapers, and absorb much of their information through entertainment media. This leads to two results:
- Because this generation gets much of their political information through the more entertainment-driven news programs, much of the information they get only serves to reinforce their cynicism about politics. They may not have heard about the budget package, but they have likely heard of campaign finance scandals.
- Many young people express hesitancy about voting when they don't feel they have enough information to make an informed choice.
The 1996 Election
- Partisanship.
In 1996, this generation was Democratic: 54% voted for Clinton, 53% voted for a Democratic congressional candidate, and 47% called themselves Democrats.
- The gender gap.
As is true for the electorate as a whole, women in this generation were more Democratic than men: 57% of women voted for Bill Clinton, 59% voted for a Democrat for Congress, and 51% identified themselves as Democrats in November. Also mirroring patterns among older voters, the biggest gender gap was found among young people without a college education.
- Gender and political engagement.
Young women were more engaged in the election than young men. Between July and November, self-reported registration levels among women increased 12 points form 64% to 76%, and self-reported among mothers and white women increased by 16 points. In contrast, self-reported for men increased an insignificant two points from 67% to 69%.
- Race and political engagement.
Compared to white men, African-American men were quite engaged in 1996. While self-reported registration levels for white men and African-American women dropped off slightly between July and November, African-American men saw a 13-point increase. In November, 70% of African-American men said that the presidential and congressional races made them want to vote.
In contrast, young Hispanics were more disengaged than either whites or African-Americans. They reported registering and voting at significantly lower levels and were much more disconnected from the issue debate. Fewer than half (47%) of young Hispanics reported voting in the 1996 elections.
- The "Alienated Center."
Among young people, there is a troubling and alienated center—about 17% of registered young adults said they stayed home on Election Day. These young people are angrier, more passionate about the future of the country, more independent politically than either those who voted or those who did not even register. They are more dissatisfied with the choices offered by the political system. One in five of this group (18%) would have voted for Ross Perot.
Strategies for Increasing Participation
- Early engagement.
Early political education matters. Young people whose parents vote in every election were 26 points more likely to say they voted in the 1996 elections. The importance of engaging young people early also means that high school registration efforts are important. Indeed, 22% told us they registered in high school, compared to just 4% who registered in college.
- Local connections.
Young people's disengagement from the electoral process does not mean they are disengaged from their communities. On the contrary, they believe that it is individual and personal activism at the local level that makes the greatest difference. Not collective action in the electoral area. Thus, messages are most effective and persuasive when they are framed in extremely local terms.
- Mobilizing around issues.
The strongest messages for persuading young people to vote on issues: children, education, and violence, in particular. For many members of this generation, doing something for children is a much more compelling reason to vote than doing something to be a good citizen.
Along these lines, issue referenda have strong potential for mobilizing young people. The chance to vote directly on issues seems to provide an avenue for participation, without forcing them to make a choice among the politicians they distrust.
Strikingly, 60% of those who were not registered to vote in July said they thought that more opportunities to vote directly on issues would make a big difference in their likelihood of voting, compared to only 475 of those who were registered.
- Having a voice.
In general, persuading young people that voting is an important civic duty is more of an uphill battle. Those who agree with these civic-minded statements are already among the most likely to vote.
However, the civic theme with the most resonance is the idea of "having a voice." This is the language that young people use themselves to describe why it is important to vote. Indeed, in July, nearly one in three (31%) said they registered to voice their opinion, to have their voice heard, or to have a say.
- Voter contact.
Voter contact matters. In 1996, 71% of those who said they had been contacted and urged to register to vote said they voted, compared to just 53% who did not report being contacted.
The electoral reforms that young people support the most, and that they say would make the most difference, generally provide information and make voting more flexible in terms of time. In particular, 58% strongly support distribution of information on how and where to vote, and 55% strongly support keeping polls open longer.
In contrast, using technology to increase turnout does not have the appeal among young people that the media as conventional wisdom would predict. For example, while 54% support voting on the Internet, just 24% support it strongly, and 41% oppose it.
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