January 30, 2008 08:00 ET

91 Percent of Gen-Y Intend to Vote in Presidential Election According to Peanut Labs Gen-Y Political Survey

Obama Top Candidate Followed by Clinton; Cross-Party Agreement on Many Issues; Domestic Issues Top List of Concerns

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - January 30, 2008) - A survey of voting preferences of younger voters on social networks by Peanut Labs, Inc., provider of the largest Gen-Y sample for market researchers, currently shows a close run between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, with Obama slightly leading, garnering 39.6 percent of all Gen-Y voters. Also, a never before seen majority of younger voters, 91 percent, indicate they intend to vote in November while noting they feel most strongly about domestic issues, like health care, education, and poverty.

The survey, conducted in January 2008, examines the voting habits and preferences of Gen-Y, today's 18-29 year olds with a four point margin of error.

Party Affiliation: Percentage of Gen-Y describing themselves as:

• Democratic: 44.9 percent
• Independent: 27.8 percent
• Republican: 27.3 percent

Overall presidential preferences (eligible and intending to vote):

• Obama: 31.6 percent
• Clinton: 26.1 percent
• Huckabee: 7.7 percent
• Giuliani: 5.5 percent

Preferences by Party:

Democrat

• Obama: 43.4 percent
• Clinton: 39.1 percent
• Edwards: 8.2 percent

Independent

• Obama: 34.8 percent
• Clinton: 23.8 percent
• Huckabee: 7.2 percent
• Giuliani: 6.6 percent

Republican

• Huckabee 23.9 percent
• Obama: 17.6 percent
• Clinton: 13.2 percent
• Giuliani: 13.2 percent

Gen-Y Voter Snapshot

• 91 percent of all eligible Gen-Y voters plan on voting.
• 68 percent of eligible voters who do not intend to vote stated they will not vote because they do not care or are not interested.
• Some 69 percent of all Gen-Y voters say their parents are going to vote. 16.3 percent doesn't know what their parents' voting plans are.

Gen-Y's Hottest Issue

When asked what they consider to be the most pressing current issue, Gen-Y, across all parties, is most concerned with domestic issues such as health care, education, and poverty, with 30.2 percent noting as most important.

• Economic issues like inflation, jobs or risk of recession were the second most important issue for 24.3 percent of all respondents
• 16.2 percent stated environmental issues
• 15.3 percent felt the War in Iraq was most important
• 10.1 percent indicated equal rights issues like same-sex marriage, gay rights or abortion

Gen-Y on polarizing issues

Gen-Y appears to be less polarized than older counterparts, with the majority agreeing on major topics like the War in Iraq, the environment or same sex marriage, but split along party lines on the issue of abortion.

War in Iraq

• 75.6 percent of all Gen-Y respondents strongly opposed the war with 68.6 percent of Gen-Y calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops.

Same-sex marriage and abortion

• Over all, 55.1 percent of all Gen-Yers oppose a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
• 52.8 percent of Republican Gen-Yers opposed the ban
• 60.9 percent of Gen-Y Democrats
• 57 percent of Independents also opposed a ban on same-sex marriage.

• When asked about supporting or opposing the legalization of abortion, the most polar issue, 55.2 percent of all Gen-Yers supported keeping abortion legal.
• 65.7 percent of all Gen-Y Republicans opposed legalized abortion
• 71.5 percent of Gen-Y Democrats who support abortion rights
• 56.4 percent of Gen-Y Independents support abortion rights

The environment

• 80.5 percent of all Gen-Y supported legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• 89.2 percent Democrats support legislation
• 86.1 percent Independents support legislation
• 73.9 percent Republicans support legislation

• When asked whether they support the development of alternative fuels to reduce dependents on foreign oil, 89.5 percent of Gen-Y agreed.
• 94.6 percent Gen-Y Democrats
• 90.4 percent Republicans
• 93.2 percent Independents

"We are excited by Gen-Y's high level of political engagement and anxious to see if they vote in the vast numbers they say they will, as that would make them the deciding demographic in November," said Murtaza Hussain, Chief Executive Officer at Peanut Labs. "It is interesting to note the resounding solidarity that crosses party lines on issues like the environment, the war in Iraq and same-sex marriage that shows Gen-Y may have a different, less polarized view of the world than their parents -- something that leading candidates should bear in mind."

The survey was carried out among 1070 Gen-Y respondents active on more than seventy leading social networks that examined Gen-Y's voting preferences heading into the 2008 primary season. For more information or the complete survey results, please contact Peanut Labs.

About Peanut Labs

Peanut Labs is changing the way online market research is accessed and delivered, providing unparalleled access to millions of 13-25 year olds that comprise today's Gen-Y audience. Developer of Sample3.0, the Peanut Labs sample methodology taps into more than 70 social networks including MySpace, Facebook, and Google OpenSocial. Sample3.0 is quickly becoming the online sampling methodology of choice by leading marketing research firms. More information about Peanut Labs and Sample3.0 can be found at www.peanutlabs.com.