A QUARTER of young people in the US cannot name both presidential candidates, a survey by MTV, the music network, showed yesterday.

The findings indicate a growing trend of voter apathy among young Americans. Only 33 per cent of the 18 to 24-year-olds polled said that they would vote in the election, compared to 52 per cent in the 1972 presidential election. More than 70 per cent could not identify the candidates for the vice-presidential post and only 30 per cent said they were interested in politics.

Betsy Frank, of MTV, said: Young people dont think politicians are listening to them and politicians see low turnout among this group and dont think young people care what they have to say. So theres a growing communication gap.

The young people polled said they were apathetic because the country was doing well, they believed local activism was more important than voting, and they felt politics represented big money and gross exaggerations, she said.

The survey was based on five telephone polls between October 1999 and October 2000. More than 600 young people were questioned in each poll.

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), October 21, 2000

Answers

MTV, now that's the source for all my news!

AFter hearing some of the feedback from those "undecided voters" following the debates, I don't doubt those figures at all.

Gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), October 21, 2000.