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Record voter turnout? Maybe not.

mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
edited November 2008 in Strut Central
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/voter-turnout-not-near-a-record-yethfo/b, 21b, 21The numbers aren't fully crunched yet but it looks like, percentage-wise, 2008 is a lot like 2004. The main diff is that as more Dems came out this year, fewer Republicans did. Either way, the gold standards for contemporary voter turnout still seem to be the early 60s. JFK and LBJ, holla!
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  Comments

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Despite the relatively sour economic times, people are still very comfortable in this country and a lot of them probably can't be bothered to go to the polls -- too many shows on the DVR, too many apps to download on the iPhone.
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    ^^^more that the republicans hated their candidate and only the weirdos were actively scared by barack obama
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121Despite the relatively sour economic times, people are still very comfortable in this country and a lot of them probably can't be bothered to go to the polls -- too many shows on the DVR, too many apps to download on the iPhone. b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121Yeah, I call bullshit on this too. b, 21b, 21If the same % of Republicans had come out in 08 as they did in 04, we'd probably be looking at the 1960s percentages.
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    this is a really good reality check for those of us not living in the (somewhat shrunk) Jesusland section of the u.s.
  • davesrecordsdavesrecords 1,802 Posts
    Jesustan and Yorkafornia.
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts
    From what I've read it's still a record turnout. Maybe not vastly more than 2004 but still a record.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21From what I've read it's still a record turnout. Maybe not vastly more than 2004 but still a record. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21In raw numbers, probably - but that's b/c the overall population has grown. In terms of the PERCENTAGE of the voting public (which is more important), it's apparently not as high as many would have predicted.
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21Despite the relatively sour economic times, people are still very comfortable in this country and a lot of them probably can't be bothered to go to the polls -- too many shows on the DVR, too many apps to download on the iPhone. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21Yeah, I call bullshit on this too. b, 21b, 21If the same % of Republicans had come out in 08 as they did in 04, we'd probably be looking at the 1960s percentages. b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21They're not mutually exclusive.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21Despite the relatively sour economic times, people are still very comfortable in this country and a lot of them probably can't be bothered to go to the polls -- too many shows on the DVR, too many apps to download on the iPhone. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21Yeah, I call bullshit on this too. b, 21b, 21If the same % of Republicans had come out in 08 as they did in 04, we'd probably be looking at the 1960s percentages. b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21They're not mutually exclusive. b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21I'm not suggesting they are but you're saying that voter apathy is a result of distraction and an apathy that has less to do with the specific political cycle and just has to do with an apathy of politics in general. b, 21b, 21I don't buy that - I think if there was voter apathy this cycle, it was because I>Republican[/i] voters were disillusioned by McCain/Palin but couldn't bring themselves to vote McCain/Biden and therefore, opted to sit out the election. b, 21b, 21It's not because they were too busy watching t.v. off their DVD or playing with their iPhones (I'm pretty sure iPhones are a bigger in the blue states anyway). It's because they weighed their electoral options and decided, "F*ck all 'em" and stayed home...polishing their shotguns or marrying their cousins. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" 21
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I should also add:b, 21b, 21the idea that new technology has spurred a disinterest in civics is a myth insofar as there's no provable, long-term correlation between civic involvement and cultural innovations/distractions. b, 21b, 21Voter turnout between 1968 and 1988 dropped 10 points in America - this was before the internet, before cell phones, etc. I don't think one can really pin that declining interest on distractions.
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    I was talking with one of my tenants yesterday and he casaully mentioned that he didn't vote this time around. In fact, he had never voted in all of his 40 years on the planet. I found myself speechless. He said that it was too complicated to follow the issues.
  • hemolhemol 2,578 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21I was talking with one of my tenants yesterday and he casaully mentioned that he didn't vote this time around. In fact, he had never voted in all of his 40 years on the planet. I found myself speechless. He said that it was too complicated to follow the issues. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21I have spoken to a few friends who didn't vote. Most cited "Obama will win anyways" which is an interesting statistical variable to attempt to calculate.
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    such a stupid pov imo
  • hemolhemol 2,578 Posts
    No kidding. Especially in Florida.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    They call it "rational ignorance," right? It's not too hard to argue it's not worthwhile to vote, especially for President. b, 21b, 21I'm sure there are numbers out there...
  • thropethrope 750 Posts
    one of my roomates didn't vote. his excuse, much like my own would have been if obama had not been running, was that he doesn't like the government in general. doesn't like the idea of a group of people deciding on how to spent 'stolen' money from the populous. doesn't want to be a part of it. an anarchist i suppose.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21one of my roomates didn't vote. his excuse, much like my own would have been if obama had not been running, was that he doesn't like the government in general. doesn't like the idea of a group of people deciding on how to spent 'stolen' money from the populous. doesn't want to be a part of it. an anarchist i suppose. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21now THAT one is silly...unless he eschews all roads, avoids running water, and never complains about anything...
  • thropethrope 750 Posts
    the theory is that those things would be taken care of without the government, but im not here to argue on the side of anarchy. b, 21b, 21if you think it's corrupt, isn't actually progressing society in the slightest, and promotes equally evil groups of people deciding what to do you with your money, why take part? b, 21b, 21i'm fully aware of the lesser of two evils idea, but my roommate is stubborn i suppose. b, 21b, 21he had no choice to be born into this form of governing, and feels no connection it. *shrug*b, 21b, 21we've tried arguing with him about it, to no avail.
  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21I have spoken to a few friends who didn't vote. Most cited "Obama will win anyways" which is an interesting statistical variable to attempt to calculate. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21such a stupid pov imo b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21For real. My friend told me the night of the election that he wasn't even registered to vote. His reason was "I don't want them knowing more about me than they already know". "Them" being the government. b, 21b, 21:mega eyeroll:b, 21b, 21That whole conversation went downhill after that and was the beginning of the end of good times for the night.b, 21b, 21On the other side... I helped another friend register and got both my parents to vote for the first time in decades. It's obvious by the numbers more people cared than not. I'm still surprised it wasn't a record breaking election turnout tho.
  • Ex-BoyfriendEx-Boyfriend 795 Posts
    And? I really don't understand the lament that the democratic process is not more greatly influenced by people who are apathetic and ignorant.
  • grandpa_shiggrandpa_shig 5,799 Posts
    was there a record amount of polling place F*ck ups? cuz all them people waiting in line to vote and all that shit. where were they in 04? or was that a bunch of media hogwash?
  • young_creamyoung_cream 540 Posts
    maslows hierarchy of needsb, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21"With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take over and dominate their behavior. These needs have to do with people's yearning for a predictable, orderly world in which injustice and inconsistency are under control, the familiar frequent and the unfamiliar rare."
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21Despite the relatively sour economic times, people are still very comfortable in this country and a lot of them probably can't be bothered to go to the polls -- too many shows on the DVR, too many apps to download on the iPhone. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21Yeah, I call bullshit on this too. b, 21b, 21If the same % of Republicans had come out in 08 as they did in 04, we'd probably be looking at the 1960s percentages. b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21They're not mutually exclusive. b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21I'm not suggesting they are but you're saying that voter apathy is a result of distraction and an apathy that has less to do with the specific political cycle and just has to do with an apathy of politics in general. b, 21b, 21I don't buy that - I think if there was voter apathy this cycle, it was because I>Republican[/i] voters were disillusioned by McCain/Palin but couldn't bring themselves to vote McCain/Biden and therefore, opted to sit out the election. b, 21b, 21It's not because they were too busy watching t.v. off their DVD or playing with their iPhones (I'm pretty sure iPhones are a bigger in the blue states anyway). It's because they weighed their electoral options and decided, "F*ck all 'em" and stayed home...polishing their shotguns or marrying their cousins. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" 21 b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21All very true. I guess the point I was trying to make, to which I failed miserably, is not so much about technology as comfort. We are fighting two wars but the residents of our country feel little if any threat of having to fight in those wars. We are disconnected, to a degree, with what's going on in the rest of the world, and had we been more engaged in the rest of the world -- or, rather, it was thrust upon us in the form of a military draft or some sort of tragedy -- we would be more inclined to vote. Or, those people who did not vote, might get off their lazy asses and go to the polls.
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    On the topic of the electorate, Frank Rich is hitting it hard again this morning.b, 21b, 21"The post-Bush-Rove Republican Party is in the minority because it has driven away women, the young, suburbanites, black Americans, Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, educated Americans, gay Americans and, increasingly, working-class Americans. Who???s left? The only states where the G.O.P. increased its percentage of the presidential vote relative to the Democrats were West Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas."
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21 It's because they weighed their electoral options and decided, "F*ck all 'em" and stayed home...polishing their shotguns or marrying their cousins. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" 21 b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21That's Hillbillyist!
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I think the reason that we can't get record turn outs is that the Republican Party has dedicated itself to suppressing the vote. b, 21b, 21Case in point is the recently passed voter bill that requires id for new voters, but not for existing voters. How is it even constitutional that some people have a higher burden to vote than others?b, 21b, 21On a more personal soulstrut vote. No one talks more about who cares, they are all the same, nothing changes, you can't trust them than Harvey. Yet he voted. Which suggests to me that he places real importance on his right to vote. For that I thank him.
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21I think the reason that we can't get record turn outs is that the Republican Party has dedicated itself to suppressing the vote. b, 21b, 21Case in point is the recently passed voter bill that requires id for new voters, but not for existing voters. How is it even constitutional that some people have a higher burden to vote than others?b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21That's unbelievable....they actually are making new voters show a form of ID!!b, 21b, 21But people who have voted and shown their ID in the past don't have to!!b, 21b, 21And those new voters who show ID this year won't have to again in 4 years.b, 21b, 21What the hell is happening to our country!!!
  • PATXPATX 2,820 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21b, 21" The only states where the G.O.P. increased its percentage of the presidential vote relative to the Democrats were West Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas." b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21Single issue voters?
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    I'm not sure I understand. In 2008, voter registration surged, and roughly the same percentage of registered voters voted.b, 21b, 21So that means, a lot more voters... right?
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21I think the reason that we can't get record turn outs is that the Republican Party has dedicated itself to suppressing the vote. b, 21b, 21Case in point is the recently passed voter bill that requires id for new voters, but not for existing voters. How is it even constitutional that some people have a higher burden to vote than others?b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21That's unbelievable....they actually are making new voters show a form of ID!!b, 21b, 21But people who have voted and shown their ID in the past don't have to!!b, 21b, 21And those new voters who show ID this year won't have to again in 4 years.b, 21b, 21What the hell is happening to our country!!! b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21You are misinformed.
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