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Be thankful for two things: These women fought for your right to vote, and you don't have to dress like this.
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2009
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April
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- Prep for the AP GoPo exam with CSPAN
- Whoa!
- Senator Specter's life
- Holy cow!
- Recession lingo
- Remember the engagement ring site from before?
- Heard of the swine flu?
- Notes from Sacto
- Laws and amendments flash cards
- Firefighter promotion case from class
- Limits on warrantless car searches
- Flash cards are go!
- As we're starting the first amendment...
- Engagement rings
- Anniversary of an historic concert
- Still no Senator in Minnesota
- Aaaaand...
- Big news today
- Afghanistan
- Just how wealthy are you?
- DC in Congress
- Remember former Senator Ted Stevens?
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April
(22)
3 comments:
I am honestly not super surprised by these numbers becuase of the general tone of this election. Although we have all been around for a few elections, this is one of the first that I have held a a relatively informed opinion about either candidate. And I have seen the first-hand effects Barrack's charisma has had on the youth and non-white voters. There was so much hype about this election changing the injustices of corrupt bureaucracy and have finally been prompted to prevent that.
All the media coverage has made these statistics lose some of their "wow" factor becuase it has been so widely predicted. Not many people who have seen Oprah's or Essence's cover with Michelle could hold legitimate doubts about the staggering increase in African-American (and other minority) voters.
After reading this article, I am not surprised by the gist of it. The statistics given on the turnout of minority voters makes sense because of the circumstances of the 2008 presidential election. I remember when I was at the voting polls on election day and seeing that many of the people who were waiting in line to vote were not caucasian and were not highly educated. This goes against the notion that most people who vote and remain politically active are wealthy and influential caucasians. While this may be generally true, I noticed that this pattern was turned around during this election. Minority voters, notably African-Americans and Hispanics, made up a considerable percentage of the votes. It was like they were the sleeping giant that made a difference now that more participated. On election day, even elderly people who had never voted before and people who did not know how to read were coming in to vote for Obama. I was glad to see this happening, and to see that the racial gap was closing.
I think the increase in voter turnout among minorities and America's youth was predictable. President Obama was able to excite and attract young people with his campaign's large use of technology. It really helped people to feel more connected to his campaign. The fact that Obama was a candidate of color, was also enough to increase participation among minority voters (especially blacks) because this was their chance to see someone different, hold such a prestigious office. The other factors that I think greatly attributed to his motivation of minority and youth voters was his decision to run such an open campaign and his slogan for change. I hope that the numbers will continue to increase among minority and youth voters in the next presidential election.
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