'08 Election: More Young and Minority Voters, but Turnout Same

The 2008 election was certainly one of the more hotly contested elections in recent memory. But, did voter turnout really look any different than it had in previous years? The U.S. Census Bureau released its data on voter turnout Monday -- and noted that 5 million more people voted in this election than in the 2004 election.

Among individual groups of voters, the only age group that saw a significant increase from previous years was 18-to-24 year-olds. Nearly half of them voted (49 percent), compared with 47 percent in 2004. The Census Bureau also noted that voter turnout among black, Hispanic and Asian voters each increased by about 4 percentage points relative to 2004, with blacks (at 65 percent) constituting the highest level among minorities in the 2008 race. Voting rates for Asians and Hispanics were not statistically different from one another at about 49 percent. The voting rate for non-Hispanic whites (66 percent) decreased by 1 percentage point compared with four years earlier.

What really struck about the data is that, for all of the discussions about how the 2008 election turnout would be historic, it really looked like the data from years past. More women than men voted in the election, 66 percent to 62 percent respectively, about the same as 2004 and furthering a trend that first emerged in 1984. And despite the upward tick in younger and minority voters, older people still voted at higher rates than any other group: 69 percent for those 45 to 64 and 70 percent for those 65 and over.

Even with 5 million new voters, overall percentage of voter turnout remained about the same as 2004 at 64 percent. The bureau said that increased turnout among certain demographic groups was offset by stagnant or decreased turnout among other groups.