Survey finds generational differences among voters
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A new survey suggests that different generations of Americans approach voting in different ways.
Would you vote for someone you knew nothing about based on the sound of their name or based only on their gender? It may depend on your generation.
"Instead of just leaving it blank, they have just picked it based on the name, and nearly one in five millennials say that they have," said pollster Emily Thornton. "On that same token, nearly one in five baby boomers have voted for someone solely based on their gender."
Thornton conducted a poll for Bonus.com comparing how voters cast a ballot depending on their age. The survey found some generations do not research the candidates.
"It's fascinating to see that nearly two in three Americans have said that they've voted for somebody without knowing where they stand on issues," said Thornton.
The middle-aged Gen X at 64 percent do this the most while perhaps their kids, the Gen Zs, do the same at 62 percent.
In another question, while younger voters are skeptical their votes matter, older voters, Boomers and Gen X, feel voting makes a difference.
"They grew up at a time when there were protests – I'm thinking of the 60s and 70s – so they got a sense that they were changing things," said Duquesne University professor Luke Sheahan.
Another interesting question looked at voting by mail, a process under attack by some Republicans in some states. Nationwide, more than half of Americans, 51 percent, have voted by mail.
A clear majority of older voters -- Boomers and Gen X aged 58 and above -- say they've voted by mail. A sizeable number of millennials, 48 percent, and Gen Zs, 43 percent, voted by mail as well.
In a sign that mail-in voting is likely to stay: 58 percent of those who vote by mail say they prefer the convenience of that to in-person voting.
