Black Voters and Their Impact on the 2000 and 2008 Presidential Elections

Main Article Content

Bulent Uyar Fred Abraham

Abstract

We test whether the percentage and the number of voting-age Black citizens had an impact on state voter participation rates in the 2008 versus 2000 presidential elections. 2008 was the first time the United States had a Black as the presidential candidate of a major party, and 2000 and 2008 are the most two recent elections without incumbents. We find that there was no significant difference in either the percentage or the number of voting-age Black citizens across the states between 2000 and 2008, but the percentage of voting-age Blacks was a significant determinant of state participation rates in 2008.

Article Details

Section
Articles