Nearly half (48 percent) of Generation Z voters and 23 percent of U.S. voters overall have lied about their voting preferences this year to people close to them, according to a recent Axios Vibes survey conducted by The Harris Poll.
The survey found that those who came of age during the Trump era are seemingly more sensitive to perceived social pressure and judgment from friends or family.
“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. “The new social etiquette is to be like Switzerland: Why do you want that heat?”
Among Generation X voters, those born between 1965 and 1980, 17 percent said they had lied to someone close about who they were voting for this year, while 6 percent of those born before 1965 said the same. Another 22 percent of overall voters said they would potentially lie about their voting preferences this year.
Across the political spectrum, 27 percent of Democrats, 24 percent of Republicans, and 20 percent of independent voters said they’ve lied about who they are voting for.
The survey did not ask respondents why they had lied or to whom they had lied.
Gerzema said the toxicity of political polarization has pushed many Americans into self-censoring or lying about voter preferences to maintain social, familial, and workplace relationships. Those raised on smartphones tend to be more averse to social or workplace confrontations over politics and may lie about who they’re voting for to avoid an awkward altercation, Gerzema said.
The Axios Vibes survey also found that 30 percent of men had said they lied about who they voted for compared to 17 percent of women, suggesting that some could be silent supporters of either Trump or Harris amid social pressure to vote for either candidate.
The survey found 40 percent of voters said they’re waiting until election day to vote, in case there is a change in the final week, with 8 percent saying it would be a “gut decision” at the voting booth.
