For Immediate Release: March 26, 2024
Press Contact: press@borrowersaction.org

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NEW POLL: Overwhelming Bipartisan Majority Supports Government Action to Address Student Debt; Student Debt Relief a Top Economic Priority for Voters

By a 2:1 Margin, Young Voters Across Parties—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—Believe Cancelling Student Debt Will Boost the Economy

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Protect Borrowers Action (PBA) released a new poll conducted by pollster John Della Volpe of SocialSphere, offering a comprehensive look at voter attitudes on student debt relief and the 2024 election. Overall, voters support government action to address the burden of student loan debt by a 3:1 margin, with a majority of all registered voters preferring government action to cancel student debt (50 percent) over loan payment relief alone (23 percent), or no action at all (22 percent).

 

“Student debt relief is not just a young person’s issue; this survey shows that most voters, regardless of age, believe that taking a loan to pay for education should not result in a lifetime of debt,” said John Della Volpe, CEO of SocialSphere and 2020 Biden-Harris Campaign Pollster, “and they also know that cancelling student debt just doesn’t help the individual or the family, but strengthens the economy for everyone.”

 

As the 2024 campaign begins in earnest, this poll finds that student debt relief is the top economic issue for people who owe student loans—more than 1-in-6 registered voters—ranking ahead of eight other policies as having the greatest potential impact on them and their families. Notably, a large majority of Black voters (60 percent) and Hispanic voters (66 percent) believe debt relief will positively impact their own families, regardless of whether they have student loans themselves. 

 

A presentation providing an overview of today’s PBA/SocialSphere poll is available here:

www.borrowersaction.org/marchpoll

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“This poll shows that President Biden’s fight to cancel student debt puts him on the same side as the typical American voter,” said PBA executive director Mike Pierce. “In contrast, the Republican Party’s steadfast opposition to student debt relief remains a wildly unpopular stance—even with a majority of younger Republican voters. It is clear that student debt relief is key to an economy that works for working families, and it will be top of mind for voters as election season kicks into full swing.”

 

According to the poll, at least two-thirds of the youngest voters and people of color consider cancelling student loan debt to be an important issue in the upcoming election. Younger voters are also far more likely to connect student debt relief with a stronger U.S. economy no matter their political affiliation—even Gen Z and Millennial Republican voters believe action to cancel student debt will help the economy by a 2:1 margin.

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The poll explores why voters support student debt relief, testing a range of different messages about government actions to ease the burden of student loan debt. The connection between student debt relief and a stronger economy consistently proved to be a persuasive frame— when presented with this messaging, the number of voters saying relief would help the economy grew across virtually every demographic group.

 

The new poll builds on previous surveys showing broad support for government action to deliver on student debt relief and durable support among majorities of voters across race, gender, party, and educational attainment—including those without student debt and without a college degree. 

 

EXPERTS TO WEIGH IN ON THE POLITICS OF STUDENT DEBT

 

PBA is joining with AFT to host a release event featuring a briefing by Della Volpe and a panel of experts who will look ahead to the 2024 campaign and offer context about the poll, its findings, and the politics of student debt.

 

This event will take place on Tuesday, March 26th at 9:30am at The National Press Club and will include a panel moderated by POLITICO’s Michael Stratford and featuring:

 

• John Della Volpe, Founder and CEO, SocialSphere, Director of the Harvard Youth Poll, and 2020 Biden-Harris Campaign Pollster

• Bharat Ramamurti, Former Deputy Director, White House National Economic Council

• Randi Weingarten, President, AFT

• Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director, Protect Borrowers Action

 

To RSVP to this event, please register here. Tuesday’s event will also be streamed online on the PBA YouTube Channel.

 

BACKGROUND ON TODAY’S POLL
 

SocialSphere, Inc. conducted a nationwide survey of 3,812 registered voters between March 15 and 19, 2024 that included an oversample of 2,601 Gen Z and millennial voters (18-44). The sample carries a 95 percent credibility level of +/- 1.59 percentage points.

 

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About Protect Borrowers Action

Protect Borrowers Action educates, activates, and mobilizes Americans with student debt to hold right-wing officials accountable for their efforts to deny borrowers life-changing relief and keep them drowning in student debt. PBA is a fiscally sponsored project of Fund for a Better Future, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. Learn more at borrowersaction.org