Almost two thirds believe military force should be used to prevent Iran and North Korea from securing nuclear weapons

Republicans and Democrats in virtual dead heat as the “best bet” for fighting terrorism

FAIRFIELD Conn. — The war in Iraq national security the perceived downturn in the economy and the increasingly high cost of education are weighing heavily on the minds of young Americans. And they’re paying attention to whether candidates are addressing issues of importance to them.

Those issues and others will influence the way in which 18-to-30 year-olds will vote in the November election according to a nationwide survey of young Americans conducted September 4-16 2006 by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute in partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment®’s Smackdown Your Vote!® initiative. The Stamford-based WWE® initiated the “Smackdown Your Vote!” campaign in 2000 to encourage young people to become engaged in the democratic process and exercise their right to vote with partners including the League of Women Voters National Association of Secretaries of State the Harvard Institute of Politics and 18to35.

The Sacred Heart University Polling Institute’s research was designed to provide input on a number of current issues in advance of the November 2006 mid-term election. The report concludes the war in Iraq by a significant margin is the issue that will most impact America’s youth when they step into voting booths across the country on November 7 with 37.9% naming the war as one of the issues most concerning them.

Almost half of all respondents (44.7%) suggested the United States should withdraw from Iraq immediately. However their view of that war has not deterred them from the concept of using U.S. military force abroad. Almost two-thirds believe that military force should be used to prevent both Iran and North Korea from securing nuclear weapons—64.4% and 63.7% respectively.

“Young voters are very security conscious which is evident from their position on nuclear development in Iran and North Korea. At the same time however many young voters seem to be disassociating the war in Iraq from our nation’s broader and more immediatesecurity concerns ” commented Dr. Gary Rose professor and chair of the Department of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University.

Republicans and Democrats are in a virtual dead heat as the “best bet” for fighting terrorism—45.3% to 45.1% respectively. When asked how they plan to vote in November 2006 24.5% said all or mostly Republican 28.0% indicated they will vote all or mostly Democrat while the remainder (37.4%) said they will vote a mixture of Republicans and Democrats.

Among respondents 82.4% said they plan to vote in November 2006 even though only 50.6% believed that current candidates are addressing issues important to them and only 40.7% are satisfied with the field of candidates. A total of 22.7% of respondents believe their vote does not count.

More than half of respondents gave high marks on the direction of the nation regarding the strength of our Democracy (62.4%) securing our country against terror (62.1%) religious tolerance (59.9%) and race relations (59.7%) while they rated as poor or very poor efforts to create decent paying jobs (51.7%) access to affordable health care (60.4%) reducing the federal budget deficit (62.4%) and making college more affordable (64.1%).

Second to the war in Iraq were concerns over the cost of education at 18.4% gas prices (16.6%) and concerns about a poor economy at 16.6%. Rounding out the top five issues is health care at 14.4%.

“The polling results suggest a discerning thoughtful and issue specific generation of young voters. The results suggest that both major parties will have to competevigorously for the support of young voters as we approach the November election ” stated Dr. Rose.

Young Americans surveyed named a total of 46 issues of concern including international and national issues and those close to home among them terrorism the threat of nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea the solvency of Social Security taxes health care costs and the job market.

While many (83.4%) have confidence in their own prospects for attaining and maintaining a good paying career and 78.1% said they are satisfied with their current job a large majority (84.8%) are concerned that Social Security will not be available when they retire and 82.3% said they are worried about the costs of maintaining their health.

A large majority (83.0%) suggested the government should mandate employers to provide all full-time employees with health care insurance.

Most respondents (89.7%) said that a college education is more important today than ever before while 90.8% said they were concerned about the affordability of higher education.

Other issues young Americans are concerned about include gay rights/marriage Second Amendment rights unemployment the environment global warming abortion drugs President Bush outsourcing of jobs freedom taxes minimum wage too low disaster preparedness homelessness and homeland security. Also helping the middle class racism HIV/AIDS morals/values crime foreign policies government corruption stem cell research underage drinking energy dependency Middle East conflict cost of living obesity nuclear war and teen pregnancy are among their concerns.

The full report is available online at www.sacredheart.edu/SHU-WWEPoll.cfm.

EXPERT AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT

-Gary Rose Ph.D. chair and professor in the Department of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University

To request an interview with Dr. Rose please contact Funda Alp at 203-396-8241 or alpf@sacredheart.edu.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Sacred Heart University Polling Institute completed 551 interviews with residents nationwide between September 4-16 2006. All respondents were residents of the contiguous states along with Alaska and Hawaii. Each respondent was 18 to 30 years of age. The sample was generated proportional to population contribution in all 50 states. Statistically a sample of 551 completed telephone interviews represents a margin for error of +/-4.0% at a 95% confidence level.

About Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University the second-largest Catholic university in New England offers more than 40 undergraduate graduate and doctoral programs. Its main campus in Fairfield Connecticut is complemented by satellites in Connecticut Luxembourg and Ireland. Over 5 600 students are enrolled in its four colleges: Arts & Sciences; Education & Health Professions; University College; and the newly established John F. Welch College of Business committed to educating students in the leadership tradition and legacy of Jack Welch. U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review place SHU among America’s best colleges in the Northeast and Intel rates it #11 among the nation’s most “unwired” campuses. SHU fields 31 Division I athletic teams and has an award-winning program of community service. www.sacredheart.edu

About Smackdown Your Vote!

Smackdown Your Vote! founded in July 2000 is a non-partisan approach to getting young people involved in the political process and registered to vote. Smackdown Your Vote! undertakes voter registration at WWE live events visits high schools and colleges and provides materials and resources to encourage active participation in their democracy. For information on the program go to smackdownyourvote.com.

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For additional Sacred Heart University news please visit http://www.sacredheart.edu/pressroom.cfm .