Blacks Voted at a Higher Rate than Whites in 2012 Election — A First, Census Bureau Reports – Voting – Newsroom – U.S. Census Bureau

The American electorate is changing and so are our voting patterns.

This is especially interesting since there appears to have been a voter suppression strategy promoted by some Republicans in various parts of the country.

“About two in three eligible blacks (66.2 percent) voted in the 2012 presidential election, higher than the 64.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites who did so, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. This marks the first time that blacks have voted at a higher rate than whites since the Census Bureau started publishing statistics on voting by the eligible citizen population in 1996.

These findings come from The Diversifying Electorate — Voting Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin in 2012 (and Other Recent Elections), which provides analysis of the likelihood of voting by demographic factors, such as race, Hispanic origin, sex, age and geography (specifically, census divisions). The report draws upon data from the November 2012 Current Population Survey Voting and Registration Supplement and looks at presidential elections back to 1996. Using the race definitions from 1968 and the total voting-age population, whites voted at higher rates than blacks in every presidential election between 1968, when the Census Bureau began publishing voting data by race, and 1992.

Blacks were the only race or ethnic group to show a significant increase between the 2008 and 2012 elections in the likelihood of voting (from 64.7 percent to 66.2 percent). The 2012 increase in voting among blacks continues what has been a long-term trend: since 1996, turnout rates have risen 13 percentage points to the highest levels of any recent presidential election. In contrast, after reaching a high in 2004, non-Hispanic white voting rates have dropped in two consecutive elections. Between 2008 and 2012, rates for non-Hispanic whites dropped from 66.1 percent to 64.1 percent. As recently as 1996, blacks had turnout rates 8 percentage points lower than non-Hispanic whites.

Overall, the percentage of eligible citizens who voted declined from 63.6 percent in 2008 to 61.8 percent in 2012.

Both blacks and non-Hispanic whites had voting rates higher than Hispanics and Asians in the 2012 election (about 48 percent each).”

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Presidential voting: Moving the goalposts | The Economist

Modern politics, buoyed by the mainstream media, social media and cultural wars is proving to  be quite a challenge to the preservation of good old fashion things like “equal representation,” “equal rights,” “fairness,” and civic engagement.  Elections seem to be getting nastier, or at least the sides are getting increasingly divided along class and racial lines.  This is anathema to any conception of an America that is for and by the people and a beacon to a world that is also increasingly diverse.

 

The demographic quagmire that is increasingly apparent regarding who is eligible to vote and who is needed for victories on each side of the two party system, is proving problematic for those who take a business approach to electioneering–take no prisoners style marketing, control voter turnout and get your candidate elected.

The London Economist takes its Euro-Centric view of the American political landscape which is always worth looking at:

“IN NEARLY every political race in a democracy, the rules are simple: the candidate that gets the most votes wins. The American presidency is a notable exception: four times in the past 200 years the loser of the popular vote has taken the oath of office. For three of those four cases blame the Electoral …”

via Presidential voting: Moving the goalposts | The Economist.

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Faith on the Hill: The Religious Diversity of the 113th Congress – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

In God we trust?  Who’s God?  The Pew foundation provides analysis and statistics describing religious diversity in Congress.  A second term “Black President” and a national government that is increasingly representative of a nation that reflects the ongoing dream of Lady Liberty…

The accomplishment include:

 

Congress’ First Hindu and Other Firsts

The New, 113th Congress  is the most diverse ever

 

The Pew analysis includes:

 

Differences by Chamber

Differences by Party Affiliation

First-Time Members

Looking Back

“The newly elected, 113th Congress includes the first Buddhist to serve in the Senate, the first Hindu to serve in either chamber and the first member of Congress to describe her religion as “none,” continuing a gradual increase in religious diversity that mirrors trends in the country as a whole. While Congress remains majority Protestant, the institution is far less so today than it was 50 years ago, when nearly three-quarters of the members belonged to Protestant denominations.”

More via Faith on the Hill: The Religious Diversity of the 113th Congress – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

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The future of the Republican Party: What not to do | The Economist

The sober, if conservative, London Economist magazine publishes an enlightening article about the current malaise affecting the American Republican mind.  The excesses of ideological demagoguery in the “Republican playbook” now seem antiquated and ineffective for an American electorate that is more diverse, social media savvy and less White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.  This sober article exemplifies current conservative intellectual rumblings from underneath the electoral rubble created by Latino, gender, young and socially liberal voting power.  Join the Policy ThinkShop in this discourse to find the New American Electorate and the vision forward ….

“To put it more simply: laying policy aside, a party that equates, as Mr McCarthy seems to, appealing to Hispanic voters with losing your core identity is not yet in a position to appeal to Hispanic voters. And a party that believes diversity results in social decay does not have much chance with a diverse electorate.”

More via The future of the Republican Party: What not to do | The Economist.

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A Vote for Unlimited Campaign Financing – NYTimes.com

Interesting article from the NYTs on the role that PACs played in 2012 race …

The impact of big money on the political game may be here to stay … as political powers compete by any means necessary…  What will be the impact on the nation’s polity and political culture?  What will be the impact on public policy?  Many questions remain…. This article may be a start to a conversation that will shape public debate for the rest of this decade and beyond ….

“When the votes were counted, President Obama’s campaign declared victory over the conservative super PACs that had sought to bury him in negative ads and win the White House and the Senate for the …”

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Latino Voters in the 2012 Election | Pew Hispanic Center

The Republican and Democrat parties are focusing on everything else but the role of the Latino vote in the 2012 election.  This is in part due to the fact that either party lacks an internal capacity to develop an intelligent conversation on the role that the vote has played.  Even the Democratic machine, at the national level, which supposedly had the upper hand on voter micro data and demographics, has not come out with an intelligent discussion on the role of the Latino vote.  The Pew Foundation has shared some resources that could enlighten such a discussion….  The Policy ThinkShop provides this link for those who are looking at this issue towards making the current administration accountable to the Latino vote and in making sure the Latino vote continues to come in and count once it has its impact going forward…

Feel free to post your comments on how this material is useful to you, your organization and to developing policy that addresses Latino community needs and interests…

“Latinos voted for President Barack Obama over Republican Mitt Romney by 71% to 27%, according to an analysis of exit polls by the Pew Hispanic Center, a Project of the Pew Research Center.1

Obama’s national vote share among Hispanic voters is the highest seen by a Democratic candidate since 1996, when President Bill Clinton won 72% of the Hispanic vote.

The Center’s analysis finds that Latinos made up 10% of the electorate, as indicated by the national exit poll, up from 9% in 2008 and 8% in 2004.2 The analysis also shows that as a group, non-white voters made up 28% of the nation’s electorate, up from 26% in 2008.3″

More via Latino Voters in the 2012 Election | Pew Hispanic Center.

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State of denial | The Economist The Policy ThinkShop Proposes that there is now a “NEW AMERICAN ELECTORATE”

The London Economist provides some sober analysis on the Republican meltdown that represents the Presidential Election of 2012.  The Republican disconnect between the young, women and Latinos could spell a new era of demographic consequences that are now clearly irreversible and that will mandate Republican philosophical change that may not be possible for another generation.  Millionaire money, gerrymandering and voter suppression is clearly not enough to the blossoming diversity and generational succession that is now apparent in the “NEW AMERICAN ELECTORATE.”

“FOR conservatives casting about for comfort, there are plenty of plausible reasons to dismiss talk of a crisis. Mitt Romney could have run a better campaign. He reacted slowly when Barack Obama defined him as a heartless plutocrat, and flip-flopped on policies so frequently that even campaign allies struggled to keep …”

 

This Economist article is only one soul-searching conservative attempt to explain the current state of the Republican mind.  It may take Conservatives, Tea Party stalwarts and Right Wingers another decade to figure it out.  By then, the NEW AMERICAN ELECTORATE may have moved on.  America is moving forward right past the right, its billionaires and its antiquated vision of “a real america”.

More via Lexington: State of denial | The Economist.

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Election-Day Victories for Same-Sex Marriage – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Follow the fats on gay marriage at the Pew Foundation web…  It’s one of the best places for clear and sober facts on this important civil rights issue….

“On Nov. 6, 2012, supporters of same-sex marriage won key victories at the ballot box in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington state. In Maine, voters approved a ballot initiative legalizing gay marriage, just three years after they had voted to invalidate a same-sex marriage law. Maine becomes the first state to legalize gay marriage by popular vote. In Maryland and Washington state, voters rejected efforts to invalidate statutes legalizing gay marriage that had been enacted earlier in 2012. Those laws will now take effect as originally planned. Finally, in Minnesota, voters rejected a ballot initiative that would have written a same-sex marriage ban into the state’s constitution, leaving in place an existing statutory ban.”

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Latino Voters in the 2012 Election | Pew Hispanic Center

The Pew Hispanic Center put together some nice tables and statistics on the Latino vote in the President Obama reelection victory …  Clearly Latinos played the biggest role ever in this election since the Clinton victory of 1996.  Of course, PRWOA (the welfare reform law Clinton passed) was not en evil in itself.  What is evil is the employment picture that followed that reform, till this day, in terms of folks that were thrown off the roles and into a jobless economy.  Go figure?

After the Clinton victory, Clinton payed them back with welfare reform…  Hope President Obama pays better… Ya think?  

In any case, enjoy the numbers…

Latinos voted for President Barack Obama over Republican Mitt Romney by 71% to 27%, according to an analysis of exit polls by the Pew Hispanic Center, a Project of the Pew Research Center.1

Obama’s national vote share among Hispanic voters is the highest seen by a Democratic candidate since 1996, when President Bill Clinton won 72% of the Hispanic vote.

The Center’s analysis finds that Latinos made up 10% of the electorate, as indicated by the national exit poll, up from 9% in 2008 and 8% in 2004.2 The analysis also shows that as a group, non-white voters made up 28% of the nation’s electorate, up from 26% in 2008.3

Battleground States

Hispanics made up a growing share of voters in three of the key battleground states in yesterday’s election—Florida, Nevada and Colorado.

Post-Election Analysis

Changing Face of America Helps Assure Obama Victory

A Milestone En Route to a Majority Minority Nation

How the Faithful Voted: 2012 Preliminary Analysis

Obama carried Florida’s Hispanic vote 60% to 39%, an improvement over his 57% to 42% showing in 2008. Also, Hispanics made up 17% of the Florida electorate this year, up from 14% in 2008.

The state’s growing non-Cuban population—especially growth in the Puerto Rican population in central Florida—contributed to the president’s improved showing among Hispanic voters. This year, according to the Florida exit poll, 34% of Hispanic voters were Cuban while 57% were non-Cuban. Among Cuban voters, the vote was split—49% supported Obama while 47% supported Romney. Among the state’s non-Cuban voters, Obama won 66% versus 34% for Romney.

via Latino Voters in the 2012 Election | Pew Hispanic Center.

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President Obama’s Success – NYTimes.com

NYTs weighs in on how the Country has spoken demanding

• jobs, spreading the tax burden and rejecting politics of deceit

“President Obama’s dramatic re-election victory was not a sign that a fractured nation had finally come together on Election Day. But it was a strong endorsement of …”

via President Obama’s Success – NYTimes.com.

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Obama Wins New Term as Electoral Advantage Holds – NYTimes.com

America’s has chosen to stay on the path to fairness, embracing diversity and the working person … The 47% wins!

The New York Times reports Obama victory as “Mr. Etch a Sketch” goes down hard and for ever!

Mitt Catches Bad Loss … America’s 47% wins big!

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“Barack Hussein Obama was re-elected president of the United States on Tuesday, overcoming powerful economic headwinds, a lock-step resistance to his agenda by Republicans in Congress and an unprecedented torrent of advertising as the nation voted to give him a second …”

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Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Colin Powell Aide, Blasts Sununu, GOP, As ‘Full Of Racists’

Colin Powell’s endorsement of President Obama creates some waves between reasonable Powell supporters and the Republican Right …

“My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people — not all of them, but most of them — who are still basing their positions on race. Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that’s despicable.”

More via Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Colin Powell Aide, Blasts Sununu, GOP, As ‘Full Of Racists’.

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