Alliance for Youth Action and Civiqs Release Post-Election Poll of Young Progressive Voters in Battleground States

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 15, 2020

PRESS CONTACT:
Carmel Pryor
press@allianceforyouthaction.org

Significant findings show that young Democratic and Democratic-leaning Independent voters in ten battleground states want the Biden Administration to push through a big, bold policy agenda  

WASHINGTON – The Alliance for Youth Action in collaboration with Civiqs released a post-election poll of young Democratic and Democratic-leaning Independent voters ages 18 – 39 in 10 battleground states covering the issues and policies that young progressive voters want the Biden Administration to prioritize, the contact young progressive voters received from the Biden and Trump campaigns leading up to the general election, the method by which young progressive decided to vote, as well as their motivation to stay civically and politically engaged in 2021.

This poll found that young progressive voters want the Biden Administration to push a big, bold policy agenda and the coronavirus remains the most important issue for the Biden Administration to address on day one; in the first 100 days of the Biden Administration, young progressive voters have deep and broad support for a range of Democratic policy initiatives including ending the border separation policy and reuniting children separated from their families as a top priority; in the weeks leading up to the general election, the Biden campaign increased campaign contact as young progressive voters felt some concern that their vote in the 2020 election might not be counted and changed their voting habits; and young progressive voters are extremely motivated to be involved in civic engagement and politics in 2021 and have a lot of interest in alternatives to the two-party system.

“Young voters turned out in record numbers and overwhelmingly supported Biden in the 2020 election. For many years to come, Generation Z and Millennials will continue to be the biggest voting bloc shaping our politics. These voters are more than the margin of victory – they are the progressive base and should be treated as such,” said Sarah Audelo, Executive Director of Alliance for Youth Action. “This makes it imperative for the Biden Administration and the Democratic Party to show they are willing to bring the issues young people care about to the table and have robust plans for how to address them.”

“Due to the work that civic organizations like those in the Alliance for Youth Action network did leading up to the general election, the progressive youth vote coalesced behind the Biden-Harris ticket, and now these voters have a broad agenda for what they want to see get done,” said Drew Linzer, Director of Civiqs. “This poll makes it clear that young swing-state progressives want the Biden administration to implement policies that would put money back in their pockets and increase their financial security on day one.” 

Here are the key findings of the survey from the Alliance for Youth Action and Civiqs:

• Nearly two-thirds (59%) of young Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents in ten key battleground states want the Biden administration and Democrats to push through a big, bold policy agenda.
• Only 33% want the Biden Administration and Democrats to work with Republicans to reach bipartisan compromise.
• Over half (51%) say that the coronavirus pandemic is the most important issue for the Biden administration to address. 
• Overall, 60% of young voters say that addressing the pandemic is one of their top two priorities; 30% say that affordable healthcare is one of their two top priorities, and 30% mention the economy as either a first or second priority.

• Nearly half (49%) say ending the border separation policy and reuniting children separated from their families is a top priority for the first 100 days.
• 36% say increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy is a top priority for the first 100 days.
• 35% say cancelling rent payments during the COVID-19 pandemic is a top priority for the first 100 days.
• 35% say ending partisan gerrymandering and implementing fair redistricting processes is a top priority for the first 100 days.
• 30% say cancelling student loan debt is a top priority for the first 100 days.
• When asked which policy would be most important for the Biden Administration to implement first once sworn in, 20% select cancelling rent payments during the pandemic, followed by implementing Medicare for All (14%) and ending the border separation policy (12%).

• In the weeks leading up to the November 2020 general election, fully 78% of young progressive voters in swing states received some form of contact from the Biden presidential campaign. Over a third (38%) were contacted in more than one way: text message, digital ads, mail, or on the phone. A smaller number, 56%, had some contact from the Trump campaign during the final weeks of the election.
• Over two-thirds (69%) of young Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents felt some concern that their vote in the 2020 election might not be counted. Nine out of ten of these individuals changed their voting habits accordingly, either by tracking their ballot or voting in person to ensure their vote was counted.

• There is energy among young voters that the Biden administration could harness. Over half (51%) of young swing-state progressives say they are extremely motivated to be involved in civic engagement and politics in 2021.
• There is a lot of interest in alternatives to the two-party system among young progressive voters. Fully 74% are interested.

See more poll findings here. 

Civiqs interviewed 947 Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents aged 18-39 in

Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire,

Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin from November 23 – 26, 2020. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and state to be representative of the population of registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents aged 18-39 in the ten states. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.8% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the weighting design effect. More information about Civiqs can be found online at civiqs.com/methodology.

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