Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable, says, “Don’t believe the hype.”
In a recent op-ed piece, Melanie wrote:
It is amazing to me how pundits jump to the same conclusion when Democrats lose that “black folks and youth must have stayed home,” only to find that when the official numbers come out weeks later, it usually turns out to be just the opposite that we in fact voted much higher than exit polls reflected.Don’t believe the hype, black folks voted!
No matter what the final official black voter turnout shows, we know that it could have been even higher if resources were made available much earlier for our black civil rights, civic sector and trusted voices to do what we do best—get out the black vote!
While the official numbers will not be available for at least a year, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies' preliminary analysis shows that Melanie is spot-on.
Indeed, this Project Vote graphic is worth a thousand words.
Don’t believe the hype. Democrats lost because they were abandoned by independent voters, seniors and white women.
UPDATE: Project Vote’s analysis of the 2010 electorate has been released.
