Political Participation - Voter Turnout

Registering to vote is one thing, but actually going out to the polls on election day is another, Often, people will register to vote but fail to exercise their right to vote when the time comes.

While African-Americans are somewhat less likely to vote than whites, both groups are much more likely to vote than Hispanics and Asians and Pacific Islanders. In 2004, 65.8% of non-Hispanic whites voted, compared with 56.3% of African-Americans, 29.8% of Asian-Americans, and 28% of Hispanics. (See Table 8.2.)

Just as African-Americans in the Midwest were more likely to be registered to vote in 2004, they were more likely to vote than African-Americans in other parts of the country. Almost two-thirds (64.7%) of African-Americans in the Midwest voted that year, with the lowest turnout in the Northeast, where only 48.4% voted. Hispanic turnout was best in the Northeast, where 31.4% of Hispanics voted in 2004, while the lowest turnout of Hispanics was in the West, where only 26.7% voted. Asian-Americans living in the West were most likely to vote—32.8% voted in 2004—while the lowest turnout of Asian-Americans was in the South, at 25.7%. (See Table 8.2.)

Not everyone in the voting-age population can vote. The Census Bureau's voting-age population estimates include those who are eligible to vote as well as those who are not eligible to vote, such as noncitizens, convicted felons, and prison inmates. Americans living overseas who are of voting age are also missing from these estimates.

A General Decline in Voting Participation

Since 1964 there has been a decline in the percentage of Americans who vote in presidential elections. The

TABLE 8.2 Reported voting and registration, by race, Hispanic origin, and region, November 2004 Adapted from "Table 3. Reported Voting and Registration, by Race, Hispanic Origin, and Age, for the United States, Regions, and Divisions: November 2004," U.S. Census Bureau, May 25, 2005, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/cps2004.html (accessed January 30, 2006)

TABLE 8.2
Reported voting and registration, by race, Hispanic origin, and region, November 2004
[In thousands]
Race, Hispanic origin, age, and geography	Total	Total population								U.S. citizen		Not a citizen
		Reported registered		Not registered		Reported voted		Did not vote		Reported registered	Not registered
		Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Number	Number
Note: "Not registered" includes "did not register to vote," "do not know," and "not reported." "Did not vote," includes "did not vote," "do not know," and "not reported."
SOURCE: Adapted from "Table 3. Reported Voting and Registration, by Race, Hispanic Origin, and Age, for the United States, Regions, and Divisions: November 2004," U.S. Census Bureau, May 25, 2005, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/cps2004.html (accessed January 30, 2006)
All races
Total	215,694	142,070	65.9	73,624	34.1	125,736	58.3	89,958	41.7	142,070	54,936	18,688
Northeast	41,006	26,785	65.3	14,221	34.7	24,040	58.6	16,966	41.4	26,785	10,703	3,518
Midwest	48,419	35,242	72.8	13,177	27.2	31,495	65.0	16,924	35.0	35,242	11,210	1,966
South	77,188	50,556	65.5	26,632	34.5	43,512	56.4	33,677	43.6	50,556	20,802	5,830
West	49,080	29,486	60.1	19,594	39.9	26,689	54.4	22,391	45.6	29,486	12,220	7,373
White non-Hispanic alone
Total	151,410	111,318	73.5	40,092	26.5	99,567	65.8	51,844	34.2	111,318	36,840	3,252
Northeast	30,956	22,233	71.8	8,723	28.2	20,122	65.0	10,833	35.0	22,233	7,751	972
Midwest	39,981	30,431	76.1	9,551	23.9	27,249	68.2	12,733	31.8	30,431	9,055	495
South	51,357	37,023	72.1	14,334	27.9	32,250	62.8	19,107	37.2	37,023	13,475	860
West	29,117	21,632	74.3	7,484	25.7	19,945	68.5	9,171	31.5	21,632	6,559	926
Black alone
Total	24,910	16,035	64.4	8,875	35.6	14,016	56.3	10,894	43.7	16,035	7,311	1,564
Northeast	4,638	2,544	54.9	2,093	45.1	2,245	48.4	2,392	51.6	2,544	1,453	641
Midwest	4,445	3,182	71.6	1,263	28.4	2,876	64.7	1,569	35.3	3,182	1,173	90
South	13,501	8,813	65.3	4,688	34.7	7,549	55.9	5,952	44.1	8,813	3,994	694
West	2,326	1,496	64.3	830	35.7	1,346	57.9	980	42.1	1,496	690	140
Hispanic (of any race)
Total	27,129	9,308	34.3	17,821	65.7	7,587	28.0	19,542	72.0	9,308	6,780	11,041
Northeast	3,710	1,417	38.2	2,294	61.8	1,166	31.4	2,544	68.6	1,417	974	1,319
Midwest	2,386	826	34.6	1,560	65.4	712	29.9	1,674	70.1	826	562	998
South	9,613	3,457	36.0	6,156	64.0	2,655	27.6	6,958	72.4	3,457	2,378	3,778
West	11,420	3,608	31.6	7,812	68.4	3,054	26.7	8,366	73.3	3,608	2,866	4,946
Asian alone
Total	9,291	3,247	35.0	6,044	65.0	2,768	29.8	6,523	70.2	3,247	3,022	3,021
Northeast	1,818	584	32.1	1,235	67.9	492	27.1	1,326	72.9	584	555	680
Midwest	945	299	31.7	646	68.3	255	27.0	690	73.0	299	259	387
South	1,705	520	30.5	1,185	69.5	438	25.7	1,268	74.3	520	577	608
West	4,822	1,844	38.2	2,978	61.8	1,584	32.8	3,238	67.2	1,844	1,631	1,346

Census Bureau (November 1964, http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-143/tab01.pdf; February 2002, http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-542/tab02.pdf) reports that in 1964, 69.3% of the voting-age population voted, compared with 54.7% in 2000. In 2004 this rate increased to 58.3%. (See Table 8.1.)

A general decline in the proportion of Americans who vote was also seen in the various racial and ethnic groups. In Historical Voting and Registration Reports (2004, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/past-voting.html), the Census Bureau reports that only among non-Hispanic whites (who were counted separately from Hispanic whites starting in 1980) did the percentage of the voting-age population that votes rise; after dropping from 62.8% in 1980 to 60.4% in 2000, it rose to 65.8% in 2004. In 1968, the first year that African-Americans were counted separately from other races, 57.6% of the African-American voting-age population voted. That percentage dropped to 53.5% in 2000, but rose again to 56.3% in 2004. Among Hispanics, 37.5% of the voting-age population voted in 1972, while in 2000 only 27.5% voted—and that percentage rose only slightly, to 28%, in 2004. The number of Asian-Americans who vote has been tracked only since the 1992 presidential election. In 1992, 27.3% of the Asian voting-age population voted, down to 25.4% in 2000 but up to 29.8% in 2004. (See Table 8.1.)

2000 Presidential Election

One reason the general decline in voting participation seems to have reversed somewhat in the 2004 presidential election was the close and controversial results of the 2000 presidential election. That election between Republican candidate and Texas Governor George W. Bush and Democratic candidate and Vice President Al Gore was one of the most controversial presidential elections in history. The election remained undecided for five weeks, after the vote was too close to call and hinged on the number of ballots each candidate received in the state of Florida. In several precincts ballots were recounted by hand, a project that sparked even more controversy as hole-punched ballots that were only partially punched through were viewed differently by different people. The election was eventually decided when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the recount would stop, and the election went to Bush, who was leading the recount vote in Florida at the time.

There were many accusations made of voting problems and irregularities in precincts throughout Florida that had large numbers of African-American voters. Following the election, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held hearings during which African-American residents of Florida testified about voter intimidation and such irregularities as polling places being moved and registered voters being told that they could not vote. Because African-Americans tend to vote for the Democratic Party, many groups charged that Gore would have won the election had the minority vote not been compromised. The complaints led the NAACP to file a lawsuit against the state of Florida over the election and resulted in widespread calls for election reform. Settling the lawsuit out of court in 2002, the state agreed to change voter registration procedures, improve maintenance of the list of eligible voters, better train poll workers, and improve communication between precincts and election headquarters.

Reasons for Not Voting

Age seems to affect one's likelihood to vote. Traditionally, the demographic group between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four has the lowest percentage of voters. In 2004 only 41.9% of young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four voted, up from 32.3% in 2000 as reported by the Census Bureau (February 2002, http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-542/tab01.pdf). As citizens age, however, they are more likely to vote. In 2004, 52.2% of the voting-age population between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four voted, 66.6% of those between the ages of forty-five and sixty-four voted, and 70.8% of those between the ages of sixty-five and seventy-four voted. (See Table 8.3.) The percent that voted was up in all age groups since 2000.

According to the Census Bureau, the number-one reason people gave for not voting in the 2004 presidential election was that they were too busy, an excuse given by 19.9% of registered nonvoters polled. Other leading reasons were illness or disability (15.4%), no interest (10.7%), dislike of candidates or campaign issues (9.9%), and out of town (9%). (See Table 8.4.)