Despite Obstacles, Black Voter Turnout Peaks in '04
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 11/10/2004
Voting advocates nationwide came together last week to discuss the impact black voters had on last week's presidential election. The event, sponsored by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, also addressed how the higher turnout will affect black communities around the country.An estimated 13.6 million black voters participated in this year's election, making it the highest turnout of black voters ever, said David A. Bostis, senior research associate from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
The black voter turnout increased by more than 3 million voters, or 25 percent, since the 2000 election, Bostis said. Although the Joint Center has not fully analyzed its data, initial research indicates that a high proportion of the new black voters were aged 18 to 30, he said.
Many of the voting advocates at the event spoke of the important role young adults played in this election and that it was they - the "Hip Hop" generation - who provided new energy and information to increase black civic participation. Nationwide campaigns such as "Vote or Die" and "Rock the Vote" strongly encouraged young adults to vote in this year's election and reports have shown that their efforts worked.
"Young Americans were at the forefront of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and it is young Americans today that are leading the charge for voting rights and participation," said former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.
Jackson also turned his attention to poll challengers who heavily targeted minority voters. Prior to the election, voting rights advocates had widely noted an increase in the number of challengers to contest the eligibility of voters. Jackson pointed out that while many of the challengers where white, many of those being challenged were black or Hispanic.
"The idea of black challengers going into white communities challenging their citizenship and their right to vote would not happen," he said.
Speakers at the event also discussed reports of deceptive flyers being distributed in black communities that proclaimed Election Day was November 4. Some black voters were incorrectly told that having outstanding traffic tickets could lead to their arrests at the polls, speakers said.
Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, reported that many voters waited in line for about nine hours to cast ballots. Other problems included malfunctioning electronic voting machines, polls closing while people were still in line, and absentee ballots never being received.
