Younger voters pay less heed to election

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll indicates younger U.S. adults are paying less attention to the election than older voters.

The national poll of 796 of registered voters, conducted Oct. 5-18, found 40 percent of younger voters say they are paying close attention to the election, compared to 53 percent of those age 35-54, 61 percent of those age 55-69 and 72 percent of those 70 and older.

"By historical standards, the level of interest is extremely high across all ages. But those under 35 are much less likely to be tracking the election closely," Hawkeye Poll Director David Redlawsk said in a statement. "This suggests they're less engaged -- and perhaps less likely to turn out, because those who pay attention are more likely to vote."

Younger voters are much less likely than older voters to say they've heard a lot about issues

Yet, younger voters were the most optimistic: 72 percent expect their situation to improve in the next year, compared to only 54 percent of those age 36-54, 48 percent of those 55-69 and 37 percent of those 70 or older.

The margin of error for the full sample is plus/minus 3.4 percent.