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The Chronicle of Higher Education
Students
From the issue dated October 31, 2008

College Students and the Presidential Election

Results from the CBS News/UWIRE/Chronicle poll of undergraduates

Are you registered to vote?
Yes
94%
No
6%
Registered voters' plans
Which best describes where you are registered to vote?
Registered to vote in the town/city where I go to school
47%
Registered to vote in the same state where I go to school, but in a different town/city
41%
Registered to vote in a different state from where I go to school
12%
When was the first time you registered to vote?
Since June 2008
22%
Between January and June 2008
24%
Before that
54%
How much attention have you been able to pay to the 2008 presidential campaign?
A lot
51%
Some
42%
Not much
7%
None at all
1%
How likely is it that you will vote in the presidential election in November?
Definitely will vote
86%
Probably will vote
9%
Probably will not vote
1%
Definitely will not vote
0.4%
Already voted absentee or via early voting
4%
If you have already voted, which candidates did you vote for?
John McCain and Sarah Palin
33%
Barack Obama and Joe Biden
65%
Someone else
2%
If you have not already voted, do you plan to vote absentee, or will you vote in person?
Absentee
30%
Travel/in person
64%
Not sure
6%
If you are planning to vote absentee, which of the following best describes you?
Already cast an absentee or early ballot
4%
Gotten my absentee ballot but not returned it yet
24%
Applied for my absentee ballot but not received it yet
50%
Not applied for my absentee ballot yet, but plan to
22%
If the 2008 presidential election were being held today, for whom would you vote?
Barack Obama and Joe Biden
64%
John McCain and Sarah Palin
32%
Someone else
5%

Is your mind made up, or is it still too early to say for sure?
 
Supporters of Barack Obama
Supporters of John McCain
Mind made up
85%
77%
Too early to say for sure
15%
23%
How would you describe your feelings about your candidate?
 
Supporters of Barack Obama
Supporters of John McCain
Enthusiastically support him
55%
30%
Support him but have reservations about him
38%
53%
Support him only because he is the party nominee
2%
4%
Support him because I dislike the other candidate
6%
13%
As far as you know, how do you think your parents will vote?
 
Supporters of Barack Obama
Supporters of John McCain
For the same candidate as I will
58%
79%
For a different candidate than I will
17%
6%
One will vote same as me, one won't
20%
13%
They won't vote at all
5%
3%

Registered voters on Obama
Do you think Barack Obama ...
... is someone you can relate to?
Yes
64%
No
37%
... would bring about real change in the way things are done in Washington?
Yes
70%
No
30%
... would be an effective commander in chief of the nation's military?
Yes
52%
No
48%
... cares about the needs and problems of people like yourself?
Yes
78%
No
22%
If Barack Obama is elected president, do you think that will make a difference in your everyday life?
Yes, will make it better
54%
Yes, will make it worse
21%
No, won't make a difference
25%
Do you think Barack Obama is a different kind of Democrat, or do you think he is a typical Democrat?
Different kind of Democrat
54%
Typical Democrat
46%
If Barack Obama is elected president, do you think that will make the United States' image in the world better, make it worse, or will it have no effect on the United States' image in the world?
Better
67%
Worse
18%
No effect
15%
Registered voters on McCain
Do you think John McCain...
... is someone you can relate to?
Yes
28%
No
72%
... would bring about real change in the way things are done in Washington?
Yes
29%
No
71%
... would be an effective commander in chief of the nation's military?
Yes
69%
No
31%
... cares about the needs and problems of people like yourself?
Yes
37%
No
63%
If John McCain is elected president, do you think that will make a difference in your everyday life?
Yes, will make it better
21%
Yes, will make it worse
36%
No, won't make a difference
44%
Do you think John McCain is a different kind of Republican, or do you think he is a typical Republican?
Different kind of Republican
35%
Typical Republican
65%
If John McCain is elected president, do you think that will make the United States' image in the world better, make it worse, or will it have no effect on the United States' image in the world?
Better
19%
Worse
41%
No effect
40%
Registered voters on age, race, and gender
If elected, Barack Obama would be 47 years old when he assumes office. Do you think his being 47 years old might:
Make him too inexperienced to do the work the presidency requires
18%
Help him have the fresh new ideas to do a good job as president
41%
Wouldn't matter
41%
If elected, John McCain would be 72 years old when he assumes office. Do you think his being 72 years old might:
Make it too difficult for him to do the work the presidency requires
43%
Help him have the experience to do a good job as president
26%
Wouldn't matter
31%
Do you think America is ready to elect a black president?
Yes
79%
No
21%
Do you think America is ready to elect a female president?
Yes
63%
No
37%
In general, have people you know judged Barack Obama more harshly because he is black, less harshly because he is black, or no differently?
More harshly
38%
Less harshly
13%
No difference
50%
From what you have seen or heard, do you think the 2008 campaign has focused too much on the candidates' personal attributes like race and gender, not enough, or about the right amount on the candidates' race and gender?
Too much
74%
Not enough
3%
About right
23%
Registered voters on the running mates
What do you think of the vice-presidential candidates?
 
Joe Biden
Sarah Palin
Really like him or her
33%
20%
Think he or she is all right
29%
16%
Don't much like him or her
16%
54%
Don't know enough about him or her to say
22%
11%
When John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, do you think it was more because he thinks Sarah Palin is well qualified for the job, or more because he thinks Sarah Palin would help him win the election?
Well-qualified
4%
Would help win
73%
Both equally
18%
Something else
5%
When Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate, do you think it was more because he thinks Joe Biden is well qualified for the job, or more because he thinks Joe Biden would help him win the election?
Well-qualified
42%
Would help win
17%
Both equally
36%
Something else
5%
Registered voters on issues affecting their vote
In deciding whom you would like to see elected president this year, how important will each of the following issues be in your vote? (Percent who said "extremely important")
The economy and jobs
76%
Education
50%
The war in Iraq
50%
Energy policy
47%
Health care
42%
The environment
34%
Immigration
16%
Which one candidate do you think has the best plan for dealing with the issues you think are most important?
Barack Obama
60%
John McCain
26%
Someone else
5%
None of them
10%
Thinking specifically about higher-education issues, how important is each of the following to you? (Percent who said "extremely important")
Controlling the costs of a college education
64%
Improving the quality of a college education
49%
The ability to discuss a wide range of political views on campus
39%
Availability of private loans to pay for college
35%
Affirmative-action programs
15%
All survey respondents on broad issues
How would you rate the condition of the national economy these days?
Very good
0.2%
Fairly good
6%
Fairly bad
48%
Very bad
46%
How confident are you about getting a job after you graduate?
Very confident
32%
Somewhat confident
51%
Not too confident
15%
Not at all confident
3%
How confident are you about being able to repay any student loans you might have after you graduate?
Very confident
21%
Somewhat confident
35%
Not too confident
17%
Not at all confident
5%
No student loans
21%
Compared with your parents' generation, do you think in general your opportunities to succeed in life are better than theirs, about the same as theirs, or worse than theirs?
Better
46%
Same
34%
Worse
20%
How much do you think the government in Washington cares about people of your generation — a lot, some, not much, or not at all?
A lot
6%
Some
43%
Not much
41%
Not at all
10%
Would you agree or disagree with the following statement? It makes no real difference who is elected president — things go on just as they did before.
Agree
19%
Disagree
81%
How serious a problem do you think racism is in the United States today?
Very serious
17%
Somewhat serious
46%
Not too serious
31%
Not at all serious
6%
How serious a problem do you think sexism is in the United States today?
Very serious
16%
Somewhat serious
45%
Not too serious
33%
Not at all serious
6%
How much longer would you be willing to have large numbers of U.S. troops remain in Iraq?
Less than a year
34%
One to two years
34%
Two to five years
11%
Five to 10 years
1%
As long as it takes
19%
How often do you talk about politics or current events in your college classrooms?
Very often
30%
Sometimes
41%
Rarely
23%
Never
5%
All survey respondents on voting history and political activity
Which of the following best describes you?
The November 2008 presidential election would be the first time I have ever voted
48%
I voted for the first time in the 2008 primaries
22%
I voted before 2008
30%
Did you vote in a 2008 presidential primary or caucus?
Yes
36%
No
64%
If you did vote in the 2008 primaries or caucuses, who did you vote for?
Barack Obama
55%
Hillary Clinton
18%
John Edwards
1%
Another Democratic candidate
0.7%
John McCain
10%
Mitt Romney
3%
Mike Huckabee
6%
Rudy Giuliani
2%
Ron Paul
5%
Another Republican candidate
0.6%
Which of the following online activities have you done in this election? (Percent who said they had done each activity)
Watched a video about a candidate on YouTube
68%
Visited a candidate's Web page
65%
Forwarded an e-mail message or commentary about a candidate or campaign to a friend/family member
28%
Visited a candidate's Facebook or MySpace page
27%
Signed up to be a fan on a social-networking site
23%
Signed up for e-mail or Twitter alerts from a candidate
22%
Started or joined a political or campaign group on a social-networking site
16%
Posted a video about a candidate on YouTube
2%
Which of the following activities have you done in this election? (Percent who said they had done each activity)
Displayed a campaign sign or worn campaign button/clothing
34%
Recruited friends to join a campaign
31%
Attended a political event with a candidate
24%
Participated in a voter-registration drive
13%
Volunteered to help a candidate or campaign
13%
Donated to a campaign
11%
How often do you use the following to get information about politics? (Percent who said "every day" for each source)
Internet news sites
50%
TV news
43%
Discussions with friends and family
38%
TV talk shows, entertainment and comedy shows
29%
Discussions in college classrooms
17%
Newspapers in paper form
17%
Radio
16%
Blogs or other individuals' Web sites
12%
Magazines in paper form
3%
During this presidential campaign, has any campaign contacted you directly to offer help registering to vote or getting an absentee ballot?
Yes, registering to vote
29%
Yes, getting an absentee ballot
4%
Yes, both
23%
No
44%
Have you been contacted by any voter registration-programs run by your college?
Yes
73%
No
27%
NOTE: Figures do not add to 100 percent due to rounding or due to some respondents' skipping that question. This is an edited version of the full results of the 67-question poll.
http://chronicle.com
Section: Students
Volume 55, Issue 10, Page A28
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