North Carolina college students reject both major parties

Independent Voter Network - Poll results examining political tendencies among college students were released on August 23 by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The team conducted face-to-face polling of 1,246 students at 16 university campuses across North Carolina. Approximately three-quarters of the students who stopped and talked to these researchers self-identified as politically independent from the Republican or Democratic party, suggesting younger voters prefer nonpartisan politics.

When students were asked why they became an independent, 82.6 percent said they either don’t want to be labeled, aren’t adequately represented by parties, or both. Sixty-two percent agreed or somewhat agreed that they are independent because they don’t like political parties, and 90.7 percent believe the political parties’ control of Congress is problematic.

Other interesting findings include 71.3 percent agreeing or somewhat agreeing that their educational experience so far has made it seem as if the only way to participate in politics is as a Republican or Democrat. Students were near evenly split on whether the Republican and Democratic parties are government institutions or private organizations, and 81 percent of students were not aware that 40 percent of Americans now identify as independent.

Respondents also strongly supported structural political reforms, with 89.6 percent agreeing the FEC should include at least one independent and 94.3 percent stating that independents should be allowed to vote in all publicly-funded primaries.