With election day less than two weeks away, results of a new survey indicate that military members and their spouses have locked in the candidate they will choose for president but an overwhelming majority of them are concerned about the security and validity of the election results.
A Blue Star Family survey released last week revealed that 89 percent of military members and veterans who identify with one of the major political parties say they have made up their minds about which candidate they will vote for and will not change their minds.
Three-quarters of respondents who do not identify with one of the two major political parties say they have also made up their minds and will not be changing them.
The survey does not reveal their choice of candidates. But almost all the respondents – 97 percent – say they are “almost certain to vote.”
When asked to identify their concerns regarding this election, 87 percent were “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about election interference from “foreign entities.”
In addition, 81 percent were equally concerned about attempts to overthrow a free and fair election. And another 84 percent were worried about civil unrest following the election.
When asked to identify the top issues in the 2024 presidential election campaign, “state of the democracy/corruption” generated the most responses (16 percent) while “inflation” and “immigration” both polled at 15 percent.
The survey was conducted between August 1-12. The survey generated 3,184 respondents of which 72 percent identified as a veteran or retired service member; a total of 11 percent identified as spouse of active-duty military member, and another 11 percent identified as the spouse of a veteran.
Half of the survey respondents were 60 years of age or older. The full breakdown of respondents’ ages: 70-79 (25%), 60-69 (25%), 50-59 (17%), 40-49 (15%), 30-39 (10%), 80+ (6%), and 18-29 (1%).
Blue Star Families is a nationwide non-profit founded by military spouses. Its mission is to help improve the quality of life for military members, retired military, veterans and their families.