Voter Turnout

High Voting Percentage States: All Democratic In Presidential Election Of 2012!

Ronald 5 Comments

New statistics demonstrate the success of the Democratic Party as the top five high voting percentage states are all Democratic:

Minnesota
Wisconsin
Colorado
New Hampshire
Iowa

These five states had a voter turnout of 76 down to 70 percent.

It turns out that 17 of the top 20 states in voter turnout voted Democratic, with only North Carolina, Montana and Missouri voting Republican.

If a state had “swing state” status or allowed same day registration on Election Day, voter participation was higher.

Only in four states (Utah,Colorado, Wisconsin, Massachusetts) and the District of Columbia was voter turnout higher than in 2008, an unusual event. Interestingly, Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney seem to have brought out more votes in their home states of Wisconsin and Massachusetts, but both lost their home states, Romney by a landslide, and Ryan losing not only his state, but his Congressional district and home city of Janesville, as well.

Also, California, Texas, and New York, the three largest states but never in play in a Presidential election, had low voter turnout for lack of interest and excitement about the election results.

With most attention being paid to about ten “swing states” where the Presidential elections are decided these days, it may indicate a trend of lower voter turnout, percentage wise, in the future, not a good development for American democracy.

Still, 27 states and the District of Columbia had voter participation rate of 60 percent or more, and only three (Oklahoma, West Virginia, Hawaii) under 50 percent.

Seven Factors Which Could Defeat Barack Obama In 2012

Ronald 1 Comment

Despite all of the evidence that Barack Obama has a great advantage for re-election in 2012, there certainly are factors which could lead to his defeat.

These include:

If the economy has another backslide of notable proportions, and gasoline prices continue to rise.

If a war breaks out in the Middle East or elsewhere, and the President is seen as handling the foreign crisis poorly.

If the Republican attempt in many states to limit the vote by discriminatory voter registration legislation succeeds in cutting voter registration and participation down dramatically.

If the enthusiasm of voters for Barack Obama is toned down, because of disillusionment that he has not been able to solve all of the problems he faced upon taking office.

If the effects of the growth of SuperPACS, encouraged by the Citizens United Case of the Supreme Court in 2010, are able to propagandize enough with less informed voters who react to negative commercials.

If a major political scandal erupts that undermines faith in the President’s leadership, with the opposition already starting to blame Obama for the Secret Service scandal.

And finally, the issue of race, as electing the first African American President is a path breaker and milestone, but re-electing would be an even more path breaking milestone, with the constant reference to race by right wing extremists, conservatives, and a majority of Republican officeholders, all designed to instill fear, panic, and conspiracy theories into the heads of white working class voters in Pennsylvania and the Midwest.

So there is no guarantee, and six months is an eternity in American politics!