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In Democrats' quest this fall to keep control of the US Senate, help from young voters may be scarce, a new poll finds. About 3 in 4 young adults have no definite intention of voting and disinterest is highest among Democrats.

Fewer than 1 in 4 young adults plans to definitely vote in the midterm elections this November, according to a new poll from Harvard Universitys Institute of Politics, which portrays a generation revolting against political parties and their politicking by simply withholding their votes.

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Among this group of 18- to 29-year-olds, often called Millennials, the disengagement is pronounced and more so among young Democrats than young Republicans. The poll portends that Democrats may have a tough time drumming up enthusiasm among their young constituents, a key part of the party's base, as they vie to retain control of the US Senate in the forthcoming midterm elections.

This poll, which queried about 3,000 people, turned up findings similar to those of a Pew Research Center poll last month that suggested that Millennials just arent partiers at least, not when it comes to political parties. In that poll, half of the young respondents characterized themselves as political independents, the highest level of political nonaffiliation that Pew had seen in 25 years of asking young people about their party identification.

Harvards poll, which has been conducted regularly since 2000, may point to the outcome of such political independence: If young people dont believe in political parties, theyre not likely to go to the polls for one.

Twenty-three percent of Millennials said they definitely plan to vote in the 2014 midterm elections, a drop of 11 percentage points from five months ago, and a drop of eight points from 2010, the Harvard poll found. That finding is consistent with a US Census Bureau report released earlier this month on voter turnout in presidential elections: Thirty-eight percent of eligible voters ages 18 to 24 cast ballots in 2012, down from about 44 percent in 2008 and about 42 percent in 2004.

Against that disinterest in political participation flaps a bleak backdrop of dissatisfaction with the US government.

Among Millennials, trust in every institution we tested is down, and cynicism of the political process is up,says Trey Grayson, director of the Harvard Institute of Politics, on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

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Democratic panic time? Most young people won't vote in midterms, poll finds. (+video)