Politics
Election 2012: The African American vote could make the difference in November
“That’s just an amazing high water mark for democracy,” she said. “Armed with that information we’re in a strong position to tell each and every African American voter: ‘Your vote does matter.'”
Morial said many political pundits often dismiss the importance of African Americans because they voted overwhelmingly – about 95 percent – for Obama in 2008 over Republican John McCain.
“No one has really picked up on the idea that African American voters are part of the swing category,” said Morial. “But it’s not ‘What percentage of African American voters will vote for the president?’ – it’s ‘How many actually get to the polls and vote?'”
The group said it saw a connection between the unusually high black voter turnout in 2008 and tough new voter registration and vote identification requirements that have since been passed or proposed in dozens of U.S. states.
Conservative groups and Republican-led state legislatures that have proposed the new rules say they will help ensure fair voting and cut back on fraud.
Rights groups say the new rules would unfairly target groups like minorities and low-income voters. The Center for American Progress said in a report in April that as many as 25 percent of blacks do not possess a valid form of government-issued ID, compared with 11 percent on average for all races.
