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HARRIS HOLDS MASSIVE EDGE OVER TRUMP AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS. IT’S
EVEN BIGGER IN SWING STATES.  
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Johanna Alonso
October 9, 2024
Inside Higher Ed
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_ A new Inside Higher Ed/Generation Lab survey shows Harris leading
nationally by 38 points, with around a third of students reporting
they are more likely to cast a ballot because she’s top of the
ticket. _

In an Inside Higher Ed/Generation Lab flash survey, students shared
whom they plan to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, as
well as whether they plan to vote where they go to college or at their
permanent residence., Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside
Higher Ed | Kevin Dietsch and Scott Olson/Getty Images | Carol M.
Highsmith/Library of Congress | Felix and Jubjang/rawpixel

 

A whopping 57 percent of college students say they’re going to
vote Democratic this November—and President Joe Biden’s decision
to drop out of the race seems to have made a substantive impact on
that number. Forty-two percent of those prospective Harris-Walz
voters said they are more likely to vote now that the ticket has
changed, according to the results of a new _Inside Higher
Ed_ Student Voice flash survey, in partnership with Generation Lab.

A total of 1,012 college students across the United States responded
to the survey in the last week of September. (The results have a
margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.) In addition to whom
they plan to vote for, the survey also measured what students see as
the key issues dictating how they plan to cast their ballots. Far more
said their decision in November will be influenced by the economy and
cost-of-living concerns than by hot-button issues like student debt
and the Israel-Hamas war.

The survey also asked whether students intend to vote in the district
where they live permanently versus the district where they go to
college and why, with responses largely indicating that they plan to
vote wherever they find the process easier.

The rate of students reporting they support Harris is in line with
national figures for young voters; in the latest _New York
Times_/Siena College poll
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individuals who say they are likely to vote, 58 percent of 18- to
29-year-olds said they planned to select the Democratic ticket for
president.

Where the numbers diverge is among those who plan to vote for
Republican nominee Donald Trump; while the _Times_ poll showed that
37 percent of young people said they would vote for Trump if the
election was held today, only 19 percent of the college students
surveyed by _Inside Higher Ed_ said they are going to vote for the
former president. The margin is wider in seven swing states—Arizona,
Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin—where 63 percent of students said they plan to vote for
Harris.

That’s significant because college students are, historically, more
likely
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make it to the polls than other voters in their age group.

“A lot of the youth population that ends up voting tend to have
college degrees or be enrolled in higher education. Those who aren’t
are probably more likely not to vote this election cycle,” said Erin
Hayes, policy director and senior researcher at the Berkeley Institute
for Young Americans.

Indeed, only 8 percent of those surveyed by _Inside Higher Ed _and
Generation Lab said they don’t plan to vote this year—though
research shows that even in the 2020 election, during which young
Americans turned out in record numbers, 66 percent of college
students voted
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a hair below the national rate of 67 percent for all age groups.

Harris’s lead was widest among students who are registered voters,
62 percent of whom plan to vote for her, as well as among Black
(64 percent) and Hispanic (66 percent) students.

Over all, 33 percent of students said the change in the Democratic
ticket this summer made them more likely to vote. Only slightly
more—34 percent—said it didn’t affect their plans at all.
Fourteen percent of respondents said they now lean toward voting
Democratic because Harris is on the ballot, while 9 percent said it
motivated them to lean toward Trump.
 

Of the 8 percent of students who said they don’t plan to vote,
around a quarter said they either dislike the candidates or are
uninterested in politics. A smaller portion, 16 percent, said they
don’t believe their vote would matter. Very few, only 4 percent,
said they find voting too difficult.

This squares with existing research on what encourages—and
discourages—young people from voting, experts say.
 

“A lot of young people say the two parties are very much the same
and they’re not really offering good alternatives … [They feel]
that it’s an unresponsive system to young voters,” said Hayes.

A high percentage of students said that they are somewhat or very
informed about politics, while a slightly smaller but still
significant group said the same about political involvement. “Very
involved” could mean the student might volunteer for a political
candidate regularly, whereas “a little involved” could mean
casually following political news and events.

Experts say more informed young people are more likely to make it out
to the polls, as those who feel uninformed think it would be
irresponsible to cast a ballot without knowing enough about who and
what they are voting for. That’s reflected in _Inside Higher
Ed_’s data; of the students who do not plan to vote, over half said
they were just a little informed about politics (34 percent) or not
at all (18 percent).

Key Issues

When asked for the top three issues that are influencing their votes
in this election, the most common responses by far were the economy
and cost of living—selected by more than half of those
surveyed—and reproductive rights, at 45 percent. Well behind in
third place was the future of democracy, which about a quarter of
students selected as a key factor in their choice.

Issues popularly associated with college students, like the
Israel-Hamas war and student debt, ranked lower; only 13 percent of
students selected student loan reform as a key issue in determining
how they will vote, while even fewer, 11 percent, said the same about
the war.

These responses varied by demographic, however.

* Racial justice tied with reproductive rights for Black students’
second-highest area of concern. They also rated crime as higher
priority than any other racial group did.
* At 32 percent, white students said they prioritize the future of
democracy at a higher rate than any other racial group. Concern for
the future of democracy also increased with household income level; of
the highest-earning respondents, over two in five said it was a top
issue.
* Hispanic students were the most likely to select gun control as a
key factor in their vote, making it their third most important issue.
* Students of all family income levels up to $150,000 were equally
likely to select student debt as an important issue (14 percent), but
that percentage was cut in half for those in the $150,000–$200,000
bracket. None of the respondents with family incomes higher than
$200,000 selected student debt.
* Relatively fewer students in swing states than in non-swing states
cited the Israel-Hamas war as a top factor in their vote, at 7 percent
versus 13 percent, respectively.
* Students at private nonprofit colleges were almost twice as likely
as those at public institutions to see the Middle East as a top issue.
They also were 13 percentage points more likely to prioritize the
future of democracy, eight percentage points more likely to care
about environmental issues and six percentage points more likely to
see immigration as a top issue.

How and Where Students Will Vote

The data also provided new insights into how students are likely to go
about voting this year. A plurality of respondents, 38 percent, said
they plan to vote in person on Election Day, while significantly fewer
said they will vote at an early voting site (18 percent), vote by
mail (18 percent) or vote by absentee ballot (15 percent).
Eleven percent don’t yet have a plan or do not know how to vote.

Although students who go to college in a different district than where
they live permanently may vote in either district, only 19 percent of
respondents reported that they will vote where they go to college. Of
the remaining students, 33 percent go to college in the same district
they consider to be home, while 48 percent go to college elsewhere but
plan to vote in their home district.

Regardless of whether students say they’ll vote in their college
district or back home
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the most commonly reported reason for their choice is convenience,
with 60 percent of those who vote in their college district saying it
is more convenient and 44 percent who vote at home saying the same.

About thirty percent of students voting back home said they are more
familiar and knowledgeable about the politics of that region; they
feel their vote holds more weight there (17 percent) or plan to move
back after graduation (14 percent). Those voting in their college
district said they’ll do so because of the weight of their vote
(24 percent) or because they are a resident of the region for tuition
or other financial reasons (18 percent).
 

Despite politicians and, at times, local residents arguing that
students should not be allowed to vote where they go to college, only
11 percent of students said they voted at their permanent address
because they feel that is where students _should _vote, with
Republicans selecting that reason at slightly higher rates.

Students living in swing states were 11 percentage points more likely
than those in non-swing states to say they plan to vote where they go
to college because they feel it matters more. Black students were also
less likely to vote in their college district than those in other
racial groups, with more than twice as many Black respondents saying
they’re more knowledgeable about the politics in their home
communities than any other racial group. Black students were also more
likely than any other racial group by a wide margin to want to
influence politics in their home region.

What would make students more inclined to vote, wherever they cast
their ballot? Nearly half, 45 percent, said they would benefit from
having Election Day off to vote. Around three in 10 said they want
their universities to send them text or email communications with
important dates and deadlines for upcoming elections, such as the last
day to register to vote or to request a mail-in ballot.

“The obstacles between planning to vote and actually casting a
ballot are very real,” said Danny Fersh, communications director for
the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. “When voter information
meets voters where they are, the whole process becomes demystified.”

_Ashley Mowreader contributed reporting to this story._

_[JOHANNA ALONSO is the Student Life Reporter at Inside Higher Ed. Her
reporting has also been for The Washington Post, U.S. News and World
Report, Times Higher Education (THE), Roanoke Times, Richmond
Times-Dispatch, and other publications.]_
 

* student vote
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* youth vote
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* students
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* college students
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* 2024 Elections
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* Kamala Harris
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* Donald Trump
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* new voters
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* young voters
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* Economy
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* cost of living
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* Student Debt
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* Israel-Gaza War
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* Women
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* Gender
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* abortion rights
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