Nearly half of Gen Z voters said they have lied to friends and family about who they have or will vote for in the presidential election.
The latest Axios-Harris Poll survey found that 48% of voters between the ages of 18 and 27 have lied about their votes. Comparatively, nearly 1 in 4 voters said they have lied overall. Millennial voters were the second most likely age group to lie, with 38%. Only 6% of baby boomers and older said they have lied about their vote.
Gen Z voters began to vote in presidential elections starting in 2016 when the highly polarizing former President Donald Trump first ran.
The poll found that 44% of Gen Z citizens and 47% of millennials said they weren’t close to some family members because of opposing political beliefs.
“There’s a new privacy emerging here, where it’s far more convenient to either lie or not talk about it,” said John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll.
Gerzema suggested that since young people in the United States have been raised on smartphones and social media, they lack the proper social skills to address conflict or differing opinions. Therefore, they may just turn to social apps where they can remain anonymous to vent or express political views in an effort to avoid awkward encounters in person.
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Voters who admitted to lying didn’t tend to be of one political affiliation or the other: 27% of Democrats, 24% of Republicans, and 20% of independents admitted they had lied about their votes.
The survey took place between Oct. 22 -24.
