Purdue students' national poll finds baby boomers worry about leaving the future in the hands of millennials

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A national poll conducted by Purdue University students found that Americans born between 1980 and 1998 diverge significantly from older voters in beliefs and attitudes, and 70 percent of millennials intend to vote in the presidential election, which would make them the nation's largest voting bloc.

The results of the poll were presented Thursday (March 17) at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

This poll was conducted by students from the Purdue Institute for Civic Communication (PICC), in partnership with The Hill online newspaper, C-SPAN, and the polling firm PSB, which fielded the students' questions online in February. The course is offered through the Brian Lamb School of Communication.

"These so-called millennials last year surpassed baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, as the nation's largest voting bloc, according to the U.S. Census Bureau," said Ambassador Carolyn Curiel, a Purdue clinical professor in communication and founder and executive director of the Purdue Institute for Civic Communication. "While they flexed electoral muscle for Barack Obama in 2008, millennials' commitment to voting usually has been less certain."

As further evidence of the gulf in opinions between these two age demographics, boomers overwhelmingly, at 68 percent, said they were worried about the inevitable prospect of leaving governance of the nation to millennials. Meanwhile, of millennials who had a preference, half - 50 percent - expressed most confidence in voting for a presidential candidate younger than most baby boomers.

The survey was conducted among 1,001 adults ages 18 and up, with questions created by the students in the polling class, whose majors range from the humanities to management and engineering. The international polling firm PSB fielded the students' questions online and weighted the results using the American Community Survey to ensure the surveys represent a nationally representative sample. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.10 percent, and is one in a series of PICC national surveys seeking to measure Americans' civic confidence. The survey report is available here.

Curiel, a former journalist, White House speechwriter and diplomat, developed the polling class and instructs it with Brian Lamb, founder and executive chairman of C-SPAN; and Katie Cahill, a doctoral candidate in political science. This semester The Hill online newspaper has worked with students in considering issues for the latest poll.

"We are completing a second year of polling, and our students just keep getting a better picture of the American mood," Cahill said. "Through some eye-opening results, we are better understanding how primary and caucus decisions are being made this year."

The survey found millennials also differ in believing the campaign promises of presidential candidates, more than do older voters and at nearly twice the rate of boomers.

While Americans overall say the nation is most united by fundamental rights and freedoms and patriotism, millennials are more likely to express liberal political opinions, particularly pro-government positions. The survey shows millennials are less concerned with the threat of terrorism and more likely to believe the government is prepared to deal with terrorist attacks, and slightly less concerned with privacy issues than older Americans, ages 50 and above.

The survey also shows many of these younger Americans, as a demographic, seem to place most value on social issues and a more active government for change. They think the federal budget should spend more on education and environmental protection, while those age 50 and older want more spending on infrastructure and defense. They also would be more willing than older Americans, those 50 and above, to pay higher gas taxes to fund infrastructure improvement. And they also are more concerned with racism than with violence and value compassion over justice.

The Purdue Institute for Civic Communication is a nonpartisan initiative for applied and experiential undergraduate learning in the fields of issues policy, citizenship and communication at Purdue University. Students regularly host forums with national guests. PICC awards merit scholarships and sponsors internships for undergraduate students. The Daniels Fund and a partnership with C-SPAN, the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, make PICC possible. PICC is university-wide and open to students in any major. More information is available on the website. 

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Sources: Carolyn Curiel, PICC@purdue.edu

Katie Cahill, kacahill@purdue.edu 

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