[lbo-talk] kids like Kerry, Ralph a yawn

[Doug Henwood]

<http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=919>

Released: October 31, 2004

Young Mobile Voters Pick Kerry Over Bush, 55% to 40%, Rock the 
Vote/Zogby Poll Reveals: National Text-Message Poll Breaks New Ground

Polling firm Zogby International and partner Rock the Vote found 
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry leading President Bush 55% to 40% 
among 18-29 year-old likely voters in their first joint Rock the Vote 
Mobile political poll, conducted exclusively on mobile phones October 
27 through 30, 2004.  Independent Ralph Nader received 1.6%, while 4% 
remain undecided in the survey of 6,039 likely voters.  The poll is 
centered on subscribers to the Rock the Vote Mobile (RTVMO) platform, 
a joint initiative of Rock the Vote and Motorola Inc. (for more 
information: http://www.rtvmo.com).  The poll has margin of error of 
+/-1.2 percentage points.

The poll also found that only 2.3% of 18-29 year-old respondents said 
they did not plan to vote, and another .5% who were not sure if they 
would.  The results of the survey are weighted for region, gender, 
and political party.               

The Rock the Vote Mobile political poll was conducted using a sample 
group from Rock the Vote Mobile's 120,000-subscriber base.  
Participants in the Rock the Vote Mobile (RTVMO) platform, a civic 
engagement initiative launched last March by Rock the Vote and 
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), responded to this poll between October 27 
and October 30.              

"The results of this text-message poll mirror what we're seeing in 
our more conventional polls," said John Zogby, CEO and president of 
Utica, N.Y.-based Zogby International.  "Among 18-29 year-olds, Kerry 
leads the President by 14 points-55% to 41% in our current daily 
tracking poll-virtually identical to these results.  Our text-message 
poll seems to have been validated by this experiment.  All in all, I 
think we've broken some new ground in polling."

Mr. Zogby went on to note that Zogby International plans to explore 
future text-message surveys in response to concerns throughout the 
polling industry about reaching mobile telephone users.  He added 
that text-messaging has become an important tool for political 
activists on both sides of the political spectrum, and Zogby 
International will be at the forefront of technology shifts that 
affect polling. 

Officials of the non-partisan Rock the Vote praised the joint effort 
with Zogby and Motorola.  The text-message poll marks a departure 
from current industry standards for polling, but promises to be a 
first step toward addressing the growing number of Americans who rely 
primarily-if not solely-on mobile phones.

"Rock the Vote's mission is to encourage young Americans to be heard 
in the political process," said Jehmu Greene, president of Rock the 
Vote.  "Because this group has been increasingly underrepresented in 
traditional polls, our mobile phone poll conducted with Zogby takes a 
first step toward capturing the political attitudes of youth 
voters-reaching them while they are on the go."

Motorola officials said they were pleased with the poll's outreach, 
as well as the large number of respondents.

"Motorola has enthusiastically supported the RTVMO platform 
throughout this election year because mobile technology can change 
the way we live our lives," said Kathleen Finato, senior marketing 
director for Motorola.  "We believe that by engaging in the political 
process through Rock the Vote Mobile, young adults will continue to 
be civically engaged beyond the presidential election."

The survey consisted of one two-part question: whether the recipient 
planned to vote, and which candidate they planned to vote for.  
Motorola sent the question out to cell users.  Additionally, Rock the 
Vote and Motorola are using Rock the Vote Mobile to provide constant 
election updates to mobile phone users.  For the remainder of the 
election season, Rock the Vote Mobile will send election updates to 
any text-messaging-capable cell-phone users who register at their 
website, http://www.rtvmo.com. 

The results of the survey are weighted for region, gender, and 
political party.  While the nature of the poll is outside polling 
industry standards, Zogby International is committed to getting the 
most accurate possible results using its proven weighting methods 
that ensure a sample more accurately reflects the make-up of the 
general population.

Rock the Vote (RTV) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to 
protecting freedom of expression and empowering young people to 
change their worldview through political and civic engagement.  Over 
the past decade, Rock the Vote has become a recognized leader in the 
youth political movement by inspiring and motivating millions of 
young people to vote, volunteer in their communities, and mobilize 
behind specific youth-oriented issues. 


Zogby International is one of the nation's leading polling firms, and 
has become a household name for its polling work on political 
elections and a variety of social and current events issues.  The 
company was founded in 1984 by President and CEO John Zogby, who is 
considered one of the nation's leading pollsters and is a frequent 
guest on major national media shows.