Election 2008 by the Numbers

Number of Southern states Barack Obama won: 3 (Florida, North Carolina and Virginia)

Out of a combined 33 presidential elections in those three states since 1968, number of times they had previously voted for a Democrat: 3

Percent of the South’s total Electoral college votes those three states represent today: 33

Of the 10 states nationally with the biggest increase in voter turnout between 2004 and 2008, number in the South: 6*

Of the 111 urban U.S. counties that shifted Democrat in the presidential vote, number in the South: 32

Percent of the 2008 presidential vote nationally that came from urban or suburban counties with a population density of 500 people per square mile or more: 50

Percent of those counties that were in the South: 35

Percent of those Southern high-density counties that voted for Obama: 58

Of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the nation, percent in the South: 66

Number of Electoral College and Congressional seats Southern states are expected to gain after 2010 Census: 9

According to exit polls, percent of white U.S. voters who voted for Obama: 43

Percent of white North Carolina voters who voted for Obama: 35

Percent of white North Carolina voters under 30 who voted for Obama: 56

Percent of self-identified Hispanic voters who voted for Obama: 67

Percent of Miami-Dade Cuban-Americans over age 65 who voted for McCain: 84

Percent of Miami-Dade Cuban-Americans 29 or younger who voted for Obama: 55

Number of Southern states that now have Democratic governors and legislatures: 3**

Number with Republican governors and legislatures: 4***

Number where control is split between the parties: 6****

Number of voters on Florida’s “no match” list whose votes were at risk of going uncounted in 2008: more than 12,000

Percent of those on the no-match list who are African-American or Hispanic: 55

Of 20,000 voter registration applications processed in Florida over a three-week period before the election, percent that came up as mismatches due to typographical or administrative errors: 75

Number of states that got letters from the social security Administration questioning the “extraordinarily high” number of requests to match newly registered voters with social security information: 6

Number of those states that are in the south: 3 (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina)

Number of match requests submitted by Georgia, excluding duplicate submissions caused by computer error: more than 747,000

Total number of new voters registered in Georgia in 2008: 406,000

Number of registered Georgia voters told they would have to cast “challenge” ballots that wouldn’t be counted on election day because their citizenship was in question: 4,770

Number of hours people in Georgia’s Cobb county stood in line to cast early ballots in November 2008: 2

Wait for some early voters in Georgia’s Clayton County, a predominantly African-American suburban community: 12 hours

Length of the wait to cast an early ballot in some parts of Florida: 5 hours

Year in which Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature restricted the capacity of early voting sites: 2005

Date on which Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) issued an executive order reversing the legislature and

extending early voting hours: 10/28/2008

Estimated number of Americans who have currently or permanently lost their voting rights because of a felony conviction: 5.3 million

Of those, number who are ex-offenders that have completed their sentences: 2.1 million

Number of African-American men who are disenfranchised as a result of a felony conviction: 1.4 million

Factor by which African-American men’s disenfranchisement exceeds the national average: 7

Given current incarceration rates, portion of the next generation of black men who can expect to be disenfranchised at some point in their lives: 3 in 10

Number of states that deny the right to vote to all convicted felons for life: 2

Of those states, number in the South: 2 (Kentucky and Virginia)

Percent of South Carolina elections officials who answered incorrectly when surveyed shortly before the 2008 election about ex-felons’ voting rights: 48

Estimated number of ex-felons who were unable to vote in Florida during the 2004 election: 960,000

George Bush’s winning margin over John Kerry in the state: 380,978

 

* In descending order, the states are: North Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Alabama, Indiana, Rhode Island.

** Arkansas, North Carolina, West Virginia

*** Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas

**** Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia

 

Sources:

1 “Analysis: A New South Rising,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Nov. 23, 2008.

2 “Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections,” www.uselectionatias.org.

3 Federal Election Commission.

4 “2008 Unofficial Voter Turnout,” Michael McDonald, United States

Election Project, George Mason University, December 2008.

5 “Southern urban counties that flipped in 2008,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Nov. 13, 2008.

6 “Election Results 2008 — Electoral Explorer,” The New York Times.

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

9 “Top 100 Fastest Growing Counties,” www.housingbubblebust.com/PopHsgRates/Top

100C0unties.html.

10 “Southern states to gain seats after 2010 census,” Associated Press, Jan. 6, 2008.

11 “The Generation Gap: Young white voters in the South,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Nov. 12, 2008.

12 Ibid.

13 Ibid.

14 “Shifting Latino vote helped Obama win in Florida,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Nov. 17, 2008.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 “State-level politics show still divided South, nation,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Nov. 13, 2008.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 “Florida no-match list grows to 12,165 voters,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Oct. 28, 2008.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 “AL, GA, NC under scrutiny for ‘extraordinarily high’ number ofvoter checks,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Oct. 8, 2008.

24 Ibid.

25 “Computer error blamed for high number of Georgia voter registration checks,” Desiree Evans, Facing South, Oct. 24, 2008.

26 Ibid.

27 “Citizenship-challenged ballots thrown out in Georgia,” Desiree Evans, Facing South, Nov. 11, 2008.

28 “Long lines — a voting rights issue,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Oct. 27, 2008.

29 Ibid.

30 “FL extends early voting hours; VA faces lawsuit,” Chris Kromm, Facing South, Oct. 28, 2008.

31 Ibid.

32 Ibid.

33 “Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States,” The Sentencing Project, September 2008.

34 Ibid.

35 Ibid.

36 Ibid.

37 Ibid.

38 Ibid.

39 Ibid.

40 “Groups urge efforts to restore felons’ voting rights,” WYFF4.com and the Associated Press, Sept. 18, 2008.

41 “Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States.”

42 “Election Results 2004,” CNN.com.