The Political World: Voting, Tolerance, and Civility - Who Votes: Minorities

The graphic shows how the races reported voting from 1964-2000. Whites, blacks, and Hispanics are all voting at lower rates than they were in 1964.

Whites enjoy the highest voting rates. A little more than 70% went to the polls in 1964. Their rates fell gradually over the following presidential elections. More whites went to the polls in the 1992 election, when 63% of them cast a vote. The country was looking for a change in leadership and direction, and more people turned out to cast a vote. It was the highest turnout for a presidential election since 1968. According to Voter Research and Surveys, ballots cast by whites in the 1992 election were nearly evenly split between the two major candidates: 40% favored Bush, 39% favored Clinton, 20% favored Perot. The voting rate of whites fell to 56.2% in 2000, a fall of 20% over the 1964 election.

Blacks followed similar patterns. Their rate was the highest in 1964 (other races were included in the statistics for this year). Fewer of them visited the polls in the following years. More African Americans turned out to vote in the 1980 and 1984 elections. This was the beginning of the Reagan years, and blacks, who largely vote Democratic, may have felt compelled to vote for the Democratic candidate. Their rates improved in 1992 and 1996 when Clinton was seeking the nomination and re-election. 83% and 84% of blacks supported him in these elections, respectively.

Hispanics were not tracked until 1972. While their rates are low, they represent a significant portion of the population. The majority of them live in key electoral states such as New York, Florida, California, and Texas. Any potential candidate in a presidential or state election knows that they wield tremendous influence.

What are some possible reasons for the voting rates? Those most likely to vote are older individuals, homeowners, married couples, people with more education, higher income, and good jobs. We've seen in other chapters in this book and its companion volumes that whites are more likely to fit into these categories.

We've looked at their level of voting. How do minorities vote?

Sources: Connelley, Marjorie. "Who Voted: A Portrait of American Politics, 1976-2000." New York Times, 12 November 2000, p. 4; U.S. Bureau. of the Census. Current Population Reports . Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. February 2002, p. 12.