2008 voting rate down despite Obama hype

[depakid]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

For all the attention generated by President Barack Obama's candidacy last year, census figures show the share of eligible voters who actually went to the polls in the November presidential election declined from 2004.

Census figures released Monday show about 63.6 per cent of eligible voters, or 131.1 million people, cast ballots last November. Although that represented an increase of 5 million voters, the turnout was a decrease when taking into account population growth. In 2004, the voting rate was 63.8 per cent.

According to the data, more older whites opted to stay home compared with 2004, citing little interest in supporting either Obama or his Republican challenger, John McCain.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/2008-voting-rate-down-despite-obama-hype-20090721-dr1c.html

---

So young people turned out- and white seniors stayed home. I doubt that's ever happened in the modern era.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

1. Interesting.

[sutz12]

2. Another one of those...

"why do we have to read this shit in foreign newspapers?" posts.

:shrug:

[Cant trust em]

3. Shouldn't this just read "Fewer republicans voted in 2008"?

[graywarrior]

4. That's what I'm thinking.

[depakid]

6. You can't tell that from the data

But it's a fair enough surmise.

[sutz12]

12. Actually, that "fewer older white" stat says so....

I think the older white folks finally read the tea leaves when Bush tried to privatize their social security.

[Cant trust em]

7. People sure are in a hurry to take Obama down.

[graywarrior]

8. You've noticed.

[Cant trust em]

9. Yeah. Breaking news, right. =)

[graywarrior]

10. I guess we're not on the left anymore

[depakid]

11. Obama's more popular in Oz than in the US

and the Sydney Morning Herald is a more progressive paper with more integrity than any leading paper in the states.

So you might want put away that :tinfoilhat:

[Cant trust em]

15. Interesting since they conclude that older white voters stayed home...

it is the Obama hype that failed. I would have thought that older white voters would have been the most likely to be McCain voters anyway. That would lead me to believe that it is the McCain hype that didn't live up to snuff.

[depakid]

17. That's not the conclusion I drew from the headline at all

First off, in Australia, voting is mandatory- so turnout is always in the high (0% range.

Second- there WAS a ton of hype about high turnout down under (as well as in the states), yet it as it happens, overall- turnout was lower than 2004.

The reasons for that are twofold. The Republicans alienated a key Demographic AND some older white males wouldn't vote for an African American (and those could well have been Democrats).

Seems to me that there's a lesson in here for the Dems- if you repeatedly alienate your base- they WILL stay home.

[No Elephants]

22. Bingo! On the other hand, I am white and (to my great surprise) more liberal than many herre.

I used to think I was centrist.

[Cant trust em]

23. That's funny. Posting here makes me realize how centrist I am.

When George Bush was president it was really easy to see myself as a member of the radical left.

[high density]

5. Maine had 71% participation

We were lined out the door in my neighborhood.

[malletgirl02]

19. In Virginia

Polls open early in Virginia. I went to the polls early and there was already a long line.

[bemildred]

13. This seems like hair-splitting, at best.

Their numbers are not as accurate in the first place as this so-called "decline". AP continues to disgrace itself.

[MGKrebs]

14. Here's the whole article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hoR0-aHIpX9UpwoEz8FsrB3AcZhQD99IE0C81

And here is the part that I think is interesting:

"By age, voters 18-to-24 were the only group to show a statistically significant 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 for whites 18-24 was basically flat at 49 percent. Asians and Hispanics in that age group increased to 41 percent and 39 percent, respectively."

So whatever increases in voting occurred among 18 to 24 year-olds occurred within the minority community. I think the advocacy groups who are trying to increase young voter turnout need to keep working. We should not think that because young voters overall turned out last time that we have found the magic key to it happening every time.

[Tempest]

16. Two things

1) The increase in minority and young voter rates prove the Obama hype did work.

2) Studies show a big majority of Americans stay with the same party they voted for as a new voter.

[MGKrebs]

21. But it wasn't an "increase in minority AND young voter rates", it was only an increase in

young minority voter rates. So yes, the Obama hype worked, but not with non-minority young voters, or anybody else.

[TygrBright]

18. "last November?" I cast my ballot in SEPTEMBER!

Do these numbers include early voters?

curiously,
Bright

[CHIMO]

20. Obama Won

Despite all efforts!