AARP Georgia Spotlights Importance of 50-Plus Voters in New Presidential and U.S. Senate Poll

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Sep 10, 2020, 15:30 ET

ATLANTA, Sept. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today AARP Georgia released a new survey of likely voters found that President Trump (46%) trails former Vice President Joe Biden (47%). The poll also found that Senate Candidate Jon Ossoff leads Sen. David Perdue 48% to 47% in the closely contested race.

For the special election for the U. S. Senate, Kelly Loeffler (24%) is leading Senate Candidates Doug Collins (20%); Raphael Warnock (19%); and Matt Lieberman (10%). Loeffler, Collins and Warnock are each doing better among 50+ voters than they are with younger voters. The survey, conducted by the bipartisan team of Fabrizio Ward and Hart Research, will be released on Tuesday, September 15.

Among voters age 50 and up, Trump (51%) leads Vice President Biden (44%). Georgians age 50 and up consisted of 54.8% of all voters in 2018 and 52.6% in 2016.

"Candidates who want to win in 2020 must talk about the issues that matter to voters 50 and over – like voting safely from home or in-person, preventing cuts to Social Security and Medicare and lowering prescription drug prices," AARP Georgia State Director Debra Tyler-Horton. "Most importantly, Georgians are casting their ballots earlier than ever and candidates need to address their concerns now."

The poll findings include:

Trump (41%) trails Biden (49%) among voter age 18 and up.
Trump (49%) leads Biden (46%) among voter age 50 and up.
Trump (49%) leads Biden (46%) among women and leads 53% (Trump) versus Biden's 42% among men.

The poll findings include:

21% of voters 50-plus plan to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot, 41% say they will vote early in person and 29% in-person on Election Day.
16% of voters 18-plus plan to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot, 44% say they will vote early in person and 36% in-person on Election Day.
A majority of voters 50-plus 64% are concerned about postal service reductions preventing votes from being counted.

Methodology Statement
Fabrizio Ward and Hart Research conducted a statewide survey of 800 likely general election voters from August 30-September 5, 2020 in Georgia, with an oversample of 400 likely general election voters 50+ for a total of 758 voters 50+ and an oversample of 400 likely general election African-American/Black voters 50+ for a total of 597 likely general election Black voters 50+.

Sixty-six percent of the interviews were conducted via cell phone and 34% via landline, using live operators.
Geography was matched to past voter turnout in recent Presidential elections.
The universe of Black voters 50+ was weighted on gender and age based off targets from voter file and then weighted down into its share within the full 50+ universe.
The 50+ universe was weighted on gender, age and party affiliation based off targets from voter file, and then weighted down into its share within the full voter universe.
The full universe was weighted to targets on gender, age, party affiliation, race/ethnicity and education, which were derived from voter file data, recent exit polls and the Census.
Respondents were randomly selected from lists of all registered voters.
The margin of sampling error at the 95% confidence interval for 800 voters is ±3.5%; 758 voters 50+ is ±3.6%; 597 Black voters 50+ is ± 4.0%.

In August, AARP Georgia launched "Protect Voters 50+," a comprehensive voter engagement campaign to support and protect Americans 50-plus as they vote in the 2020 elections. The campaign will help Americans over 50 vote safely, whether at home or in person. The "Protect Voters 50+" campaign will provide people with the information they need about this year's elections, including video voters' guides, issue briefings, direct mail, text messaging, social media and paid media.

About AARP
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

SOURCE AARP Georgia