New Data points to more Diverse Electorate in 2008

The November 2008 election saw dramatic increases in participation by traditionally underrepresented groups, including Americans of color and young voters, according to a new research memorandum released by Project Vote yesterday. In the memorandum, Douglas R. Hess, researcher and author of 2007 Project Vote report, Representational Bias in the 2006 Election, analyzes newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, the definitive source of demographic data on registration and voting in America.

• * Asian-American turnout increased about 3 percentage points from 44.5 to 47.8 percent (more than 600,000 additional voters).
• * Asian-American youth turnout also increased by an estimated 9.6 percentage points.

More information on the 2008 voter turnout here