Not surprisingly, blacks showed a sharp increase in interest. (That almost sounds “racist,” does it not? — Ed)
Forall the attention generated by Barack Obama’s candidacy, the share ofeligible voters who actually cast ballots in November declined for thefirst time in a dozen years. The reason: Older whites with littleinterest in backing either Barack Obama or John McCain stayed home.
Census figures released Monday show about 63.6 percent of all U.S.citizens ages 18 and older, or 131.1 million people, voted lastNovember.
Although that represented an increase of 5 million voters – virtuallyall of them minorities – the turnout relative to the population ofeligible voters was a decrease from 63.8 percent in 2004.
Ohio and Pennsylvania were among those showing declines in white voters, helping Obama carry those battleground states.
“While the significance of minority votes for Obama is clearly key, itcannot be overlooked that reduced white support for a Republicancandidate allowed minorities to tip the balance in many slow-growing’purple’ states,” said William H. Frey, a demographer for the BrookingsInstitution, referring to key battleground states that don’t notablytilt Democrat or Republican.
“The question I would ask is if a continuing stagnating economy could change that,” he said.
According to census data, 66 percent of whites voted last November,down 1 percentage point from 2004. Blacks increased their turnout by 5percentage points to 65 percent, nearly matching whites. Hispanicsimproved turnout by 3 percentage points, and Asians by 3.5 percentagepoints, each reaching a turnout of nearly 50 percent. In all,minorities made up nearly 1 in 4 voters in 2008, the most diverseelectorate ever.
By age, voters 18-to-24 were the only group to show a statisticallysignificant increase in turnout, with 49 percent casting ballots,compared with 47 percent in 2004.
Blacks had the highest turnout rate among this age group – 55 percent,or an 8 percentage point jump from 2004. In contrast, turnout forwhites 18-24 was basically flat at 49 percent. Asians and Hispanics inthat age group increased to 41 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
Among whites 45 and older, turnout fell 1.5 percentage point to just under 72 percent.
Asked to identify their reasons for not voting, 46 percent of allwhites said they didn’t like the candidates, weren’t interested or hadbetter things to do, up from 41 percent in 2004. Hispanics had similarnumbers for both years.
Not surprisingly, blacks showed a sharp increase in interest.
Among the blacks who failed to vote last fall most cited problems suchas illness, being out of town or transportation issues. Just 16 percentof nonvoting blacks cited disinterest, down from 37 percent in 2004.
Among other findings:
_The decline in percentage turnout was the first in a presidentialelection since 1996. At that time, voter participation fell to 58.4percent – the lowest in decades – as Democrat Bill Clinton won an easyre-election over Republican Bob Dole amid a strong economy.
_The voting rate in 2008 was highest in the Midwest (66 percent). The other regions were about 63 percent each.
_Minnesota and the District of Columbia had the highest turnout, eachwith 75 percent. Utah and Hawaii – Obama’s birth state – were among thelowest, each with 52 percent.
The figures are the latest to highlight a generational rift betweenyounger, increasingly minority voters and an older white population.
A recent Pew Research Center poll found almost 8 in 10 people believethere is a major difference in the point of view of younger and olderpeople today, mostly over social values. It was the largest generationgap since divisions 40 years ago over Vietnam, civil rights and women’sliberation.
Last November, voters under 30 cast ballots for Obama by a 2-to-1ratio. Still, because of their smaller numbers – in population andturnout – young voters weren’t critical to the overall outcome and onlymade a difference in North Carolina and Indiana, according to ScottKeeter, Pew’s director of survey research.
The census figures are based on the Current Population Survey, whichasked respondents after Election Day about their turnout. The figuresfor “white” refer to the whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity.