Renters Predict 2012 Presidential Election Results
National Survey from Apartments.com Reveals Renters' Preferences—Including Which Candidate They Would Rather Have as a Neighbor
CHICAGO, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With less than four weeks to election day, pollsters and politicos are revising campaign predictions and looking at new angles daily, if not hourly. In the spirit of election season, Apartments.com recently polled its website visitors for predictions surrounding the upcoming 2012 presidential election. Four years ago, more than half of Apartments.com survey respondents said they were voting for then-candidate Barack Obama. This year, in a similar survey, nearly 70 percent say they are backing a President Barack Obama re-election versus 21.6 percent who choose Governor Mitt Romney.
When compared to the same questions on the Apartments.com 2008 presidential election survey, emerging trends include a reduction in the number of registered voters and the number of respondents who consider themselves very politically active. In 2008, an overwhelming 96.9 percent of respondents surveyed indicated they were registered to vote. This year, the number dips 10 percent to 86.9 percent. Four years ago, more than 40 percent of respondents considered themselves very politically active, in contrast to the 21.6 percent who describe themselves that way today.
"As interesting as it is to hear what renters want in the way of election outcomes, it is even more telling to see how attitudes about certain aspects of the election process change over the years," says Tammy Kotula, public relations and promotions manager, Apartments.com. "That's why we created this year's survey to illustrate how some of the most prevalent behavior of politically active renters from 2008 are faring in 2012."
Another area of difference between the two surveys is the number of respondents who claim to be on top of current events. Whereas 70.7 percent of respondents claimed to be very tuned in to current national and political events four years ago, only half are describing themselves that way today.
In addition to polling meaningful political positions, the 2012 Apartments.com presidential election survey reveals some less serious opinions about the presidential candidates, including who would make the better neighbor, landlord or even laundry-room-clothes ditcher!
"Oftentimes voting comes down to how someone feels about the candidates as people as opposed to their stance on issues," continues Kotula. "It's no coincidence respondents in our survey would rather live next door to President Obama or have him as their landlord and the majority of people surveyed also said they want him to win the election."
Not Your Typical Presidential Candidate Preference Poll
Apartments.com survey respondents answer some less expected questions, including:
| Question |
President Barack Obama |
Governor Mitt Romney |
| 1. Who would you prefer to be neighbors with? |
74% |
26% |
| 2. Who would you rather have as your landlord? |
74.4% |
25.6% |
| 3. If both candidates left their laundry in the dryer in your building's laundry room, whose would you rather fold? |
72.4% |
27.6% |
Additionally, survey respondents were asked what they would complain about most if either candidate lived in their apartment building. Responses included:
| President Barack Obama |
Governor Mitt Romney |
|
|
About the Respondents
Below is a snapshot of the people who responded to the Apartments.com 2012 presidential election survey:
- Registered voters: 86.9%
- Planning to register to vote before the upcoming election: 67.6% of non-registered respondents
- Vote in elections other than Presidential elections: 72.9%
- Female: 62%
- Male: 38%
- Under age 34: 32%
- Age 35+: 67.9%
As part of its What Renters Want research series, Apartments.com surveys renters on various topics. For more information on these surveys or to receive a copy of the results, please contact Brittney Theriault at [email protected].
About Apartments.com
Apartments.com (http://www.apartments.com) is a leading national apartment Internet listing subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing millions of rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. By incorporating the most relevant products to reach renters, including personalized searches and highly-visual ads featuring live chat, real-time rent, online video walk-through demonstrations, professional photography, a mobile website and iPhone and Android apps, Apartments.com creates easy access to its listings. Providing unmatched exposure to its advertisers through an intuitive name, strategic search engine placements and featured partnerships and more than 120 newspaper websites and innovative emerging media, Apartments.com reaches millions of renters nationwide, driving both qualified traffic and highly-engaged renters to leasing offices across the country. Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC. The Apartments.com network of apartment rental websites includes Apartment Home Living (http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com), a leading social media apartment website distinguished by a "live for fun" community experience, proprietary lifestyle matching and local living guides to help renters find their perfect place to live; Rental Homes Plus (http://www.rentalhomesplus.com), an online destination where house hunters who prefer to rent can choose from a robust inventory of houses, condos, town houses, duplexes and apartments from around the country; and Rentfish (http://www.rentfish.com), a national apartment website offering customizable searches by neighborhood, favorite coffee spot, sports arena, famous landmark and more.
SOURCE Apartments.com
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