Following up on the 2008 election, research and analysis
The 2008 election may be over, but the research and analysis of it is just beginning.
In just the past month, the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network (NVEN), Early Voting Information Center (EVIC) and the Pew Research Center have all released reports analyzing voter-turnout data from the 2008 election. Combined, the studies reveal a changing electoral landscape of American voters. With African American women leading all demographics in voter turnout, the reports call the 2008 election the most diverse in history—and data show early voting might finally be catching on.
NVEN’s “America Goes to the Polls” report on voter turnout in the 2008 election concluded that at 62.3 percent, national voter turnout of eligible voters is the highest since the 1960’s and marks the third consecutive rise in turnout during a presidential election. Also noted in the analysis was the positive effect election day registration had on boosting turnout. Voter turnout in the Midwest Democracy Network’s 5-state region was strong. Download the full report.
Percentages and national rank of the five MDN states:
Minnesota: 78.5% - 1
Wisconsin: 73.3% - 2
Michigan: 69.4% - 7
Ohio: 67.6% - 16
Illinois: 63.4% - 29
The Pew Research Center’s election analysis noted that a record 131 million people turnout out to vote in the 2008 election, with black demographics representing 12.1 percent, Hispanics 7.4 percent, Asians 2.5 percent and whites 76.3 percent. Read the full report.
The analysis by the director of the Early Voting Information Center, Paul Gronke, found that in the past 18 years since early voting first became available; the number of states using it has risen steadily while the number of states using the traditional absentee system has declined dramatically. Gronke laid out his findings in a brief presented at the “Election Reform Agenda Conference” hosted by the University of Iowa’s Department of Political Science Department in early May.
A related study, recently released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) addresses youth voter turnout, which rose to 51.1 percent and was the third-highest rate ever. Download the entire report.
