As day follows night, black voters are blamed when Democrats lose an election. The 2010 midterm election was no exception.
Election after election, reports show African Americans turn out on Election Day. Democrats’ problem is with white Democrats who don’t show up or white independent voters who abandon them as they did in 2010.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports African Americans increased their share of the electorate, from 11 percent in 2006 (the last midterm election) to 12 percent in 2010. It is noted that black turnout was “not statistically different from the record high in 1998.”
In 2010, the overall turnout rate was 45.5 percent. White turnout was 46.7 percent compared to 43.5 percent for blacks.
There was a gender gap in black voter participation. Black female turnout was 43.5 percent. For black men, the turnout rate was 37.2 percent.
Hispanic and Asian turnout was 31.2 percent and 31.7 percent respectively.
As for Hispanics being “the largest and fastest growing minority,” those numbers don’t mean a thing if they can’t swing an election. And if you can’t vote, you don’t count.
The Census Bureau reports that 33.8 percent of Hispanics age 18 and over are registered to vote.
Tellingly, of the 32,457,000 voting-age Hispanics, 21,285,000 are citizens. Of those eligible to vote, 51.6 percent – 10,982,000 – are registered to vote.
Read more: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010 - Detailed Tables
