);

Most Young Americans Fear Reinstatement of Military Draft

A recent survey conducted by the National Annenberg ElectionSurvey found that most young Americans fear a reinstatement of themilitary draft, whether Bush or Kerry are elected as president inthe November elections.

 

Despite the fact that the Bush administrationhas denied claims that the military draft will be reinstated, 51percent of adults age 18 to 29 believe this will occur.  Eightpercent concluded that Kerry supports reinstatement while sevenpercent said they both plan to reinstate.

 

Both candidates have made claims throughouttheir campaign that they do not support the draft.  The Housedefeated H.R.163, a bill that would have required all menand women between 18 and 26 to “perform a period of militaryservice or a period of civilian service in furtherance of thenational defense and homeland security, and for otherpurposes,” as it states in the bill’s summary, by 402-2 lastweek.

 

According to the Washington Post, HouseRepublicans are trying now to challenge the rumor, which has beenspread by young Americans across the country through emailservices, that Bush will reinstate the draft if re-elected.

 

The 2000 survey of 1,543 adults, conductedfrom Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 examined American political attitudes aboutcandidates, issues and the characteristics that the public expectsto see in their commander-in-chief and was the largest academicelection poll ever conducted.  It also looked at the effectsof political communication, from home conversations to mediaexposure and how these forms of communication influencevoters.  A consecutive poll that began last October is usingthe same format of 100,000 interviews will continue until after theelections.