Opportunities
- briteheartlive
- May 8, 2024
- 2 min read
Many years ago, President John F. Kennedy signaled to Americans that, “The torch has been passed” and that, “It is a time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities." Today those “problems” include the most serious threat to the survival of democracy in the United States since the Civil War, the 2024 presidential election.
On the positive side, the “opportunities” to engage young Americans in civic engagement and voting have never been more plentiful. Still, getting them to the polls is another matter. Marshaling vast numbers of young Americans, aged 18-29, to cast ballots has been the Holy Grail of political consultants for many years. Simply because politicos know that such a voting bloc, moving and voting with the same energy and purpose, is an unstoppable political force.
With that in mind, we present to you the Spring 2024 Harvard Youth Poll, America’s largest poll on the attitudes and political beliefs of young Americans. Some of the key takeaways include:
The economy is the most important issue to young Americans, followed by health care, housing and gun violence.
Only 40% are comfortable sharing their political views and 33% are not, fearing possible censorship or negative repercussions. Before 2015, only 13% of young Americans feared expressing their political opinions.
The only issue that beat economic concerns in a head-to-head matchup is women’s reproductive rights, which won by 14%.
Support for the United States’ institutions is down among young Americans, featuring the cratering of approval for the Supreme Court, which sits at 24%, down 9% in just the last year.
53% will “definitely” vote in 2024, up from 49% in the fall of 2023. But that increase is mostly from young Republicans, with no increase from Democrats or Independents.
Polling Director John Della Volpe said that throughout the poll he saw, “strong levels of engagement and interest in voting among young Americans." Therein lies our opportunity to preserve, and ultimately strengthen, democracy going forward. We that in mind, let’s listen to what young Americans are telling us.
Comments