Blacks, Young Increased 2008 Voter Turnout

By Chris Casteel/Washington Bureau, The Oklahoman ~ More black people and young people in Oklahoma voted in the presidential election last year than in 2004, according to a study released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

More than 64 percent of black Oklahomans who were eligible to vote went to the polls for the first U.S. presidential election featuring an African-American major-party nominee.

The black turnout in Oklahoma in 2004 was less than 55 percent among eligible voters.

Turnout among the youngest set of voters measured by the Census Bureau was up slightly last year in Oklahoma from 2004.

According to the study, 41 percent of Oklahomans ages 18 to 24 voted in November, up from 39.5 percent in 2004.

The Census Bureau study calculates the voting percentage by looking at the entire voting age population of U.S. citizens, rather than just registered voters.

According to the state Election Board, 67 percent of registered voters in Oklahoma cast ballots in 2008, about the same as in 2004. But only 58.7 percent of all residents old enough to vote went to the polls in Oklahoma last year, compared with 62.3 percent in 2004, the Census Bureau reported. Nearly 60 percent of white people who were old enough to vote cast ballots last year in Oklahoma, compared with 62.6 percent in 2004. Turnout among eligible residents ages 25 to 44 in Oklahoma rose last year to 53 percent, from 47 percent in 2004. But voting fell among those ages 45 to 64; 65 to 74; and 75 and older. Still, the turnout rates were higher for older people than for those ages 18 to 44. The Oklahoma numbers track with the trends seen nationally, according to the Census Bureau.

Thom File, a voting analyst for the bureau, said: "The 2008 presidential election saw a significant increase in voter turnout among young people, blacks and Hispanics. But as turnout among some other demographic groups either decreased or remained unchanged, the overall 2008 voter turnout rate was not statistically different from 2004."

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