AlterNet: 2008 Results: Fewer White Voters, While Minorities Set Records

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



2008 Results: Fewer White Voters, While Minorities Set Records

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted November 18, 2008.

A preliminary study of 2008 results finds more than a million fewer white voters than in 2004 and nearly 7 million new minority voters.



America's electorate may have changed in striking and subtle ways in 2008 compared to 2004, according to a preliminary study by a national voter registration group that found sizeable numbers of white voters did not vote in battleground states this November while record numbers of minorities turned out and voted.

"The overall message is total ballots cast by white Americans was down, while African Americans and Latinos cast way more ballots than they did in 2004," said Jody Herman, a researcher with Project Vote. "And young voters, age 18-19, cast over 1.8 million more ballots than in 2005, which is a 9 percent increase. That increase was greater than any other age group."

Nationally, 3.35 million more people voted for president in 2008 than four years ago, according to unofficial state results compiled by Project Vote. That slight increase in voters, and lower-than-expected turnout in swing states like Ohio, has left election administrators and academics pondering what happened in a year where the public appeared to be very engaged. Most academics stressed it was too early to draw any conclusion about a changing electorate, because states are not done counting votes.

"They're still counting the ballots in California. They're still counting the ballots in Missouri. They're still counting the ballots in Ohio," said Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. But Sabato, who said he spent Monday on a plane reviewing 2008 exit polls, said the election's broad outlines were clear.

"I think absolutely white Republicans did not show up," he said. "They were turned off, disillusioned. They did not turn out. Democratic voters did come out. They couldn't wait to vote." .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/democracy/107472/2008_results%3A_fewer_white_voters%2C_while_minorities_set_records/

[BeFree]

1. So

From 2000 to 2004 there was an increase of 17 million presidential votes.

And from 2004 to 2008 there were just 3 million? Yeah, that makes ya scratch yer head, eh?

One possibility is that with the 2004 electronics, millions upon millions of votes were added to the republican side in 2004, thus inflating that 2004 number and giving Bush the election.

Research indicating just such a scenario has been posted and discussed here on DU over the years.

Personally, I never met anyone who didn't vote in 2004, that didn't vote again in 2008, but met many more who never voted before who did vote for the first time in 2008. Makes me think there was a lot of manipulation going on.