According to a survey of 500 U.S. teens conducted by Junior Achievement USA and ORC International, more than 1 in 4 (28%) American teens would not vote for a Presidential candidate on November 8th if given the opportunity. Of those that would vote, a majority (53%) would choose Hillary Clinton and a third (30%) would select Donald Trump. Far fewer would cast a vote for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson (7%) or Green Party candidate Jill Stein (3%). Seven Percent said they would vote for "other," with a third of those saying it would be "Bernie Sanders" if he were still running. The survey of 13 to 17-year-olds from the general public was conducted by ORC the week of October 17th.
These percentages may be a direct reflection on the influence teens credit the president with in regards to the economy. Most (87%) claim that the president has some influence over the economy, while few (2%) believe the president has no influence at all. One-in-ten (11%) didn't know or were unsure. Of the teens that believe the president has some influence, nearly two-thirds (61%) think that the president has a great deal of influence, while a third (33%) assume the president has some impact, with far fewer (6%) believing the president has some influence, but not much.
"The state of the economy is one of the biggest drivers of who we elect as President," said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "It's important that our young people understand how the economy works and what influence our elected leaders may or may not have on it so that today's teens can be better informed voters tomorrow."
Junior Achievement is the nation's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices. Junior Achievement's programs -- in the core content areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy -- ignite the spark in young people to experience and realize the opportunities and realities of work and life in the 21st century.
Methodology
This report presents the findings of an Opinion Research Corporation's Youth CARAVAN survey conducted among a sample of 500 13-17 year olds. Respondents for this survey are selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. Because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation, no estimates of sampling error are calculated.