RSS
Home
Meet the new vote, same as the old vote
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Dangling as a subtext to Obama’s descent from heaven to the Oval Office were two stories focused on the electorate itself: the huge voter turnout and the rejuvenated youth vote.
But now that the ballots have been counted, the holograms have been returned to video game creators and the Diebold machines are safely back in the hands of the shadow government, final voting numbers are being reported.
And… drum roll, please… the number of people who voted this year as compared to those who took part in the 2004 presidential election is, well, the same.
Yep. According to CNN Politics (and American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate), the November 4 election was the same – in percentage terms – as it was for the Bush/Kerry contest in 2004.
The report released yesterday estimates that between 126.5 and 128.5 million Americans cast ballots in Tuesday’s presidential election. Those figures represent 60.7 percent or, at most, 61.7 percent of those eligible to vote in the country.
In 2004, 122 million went to the polls.
And as far as the youth vote: let’s give a huge shout-out for those aged 18 – 29, who turned out to the tune of just 17% in 2004. This year, they swelled that number to just about 18%.
Rock on, kids – and way to shelve those beer bongs and facebook adds for at least one day.
Dissect the vote here.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
