The good, the bad, and the ugly of this campaign season has exposed the depth of some of the United States’ racial and ethnic fault lines. But the fault lines themselves are moving, reports Pew Research Center.
The 2016 electorate will be the most racially and ethnically diverse ever, due largely to U.S.-born Hispanic youth and naturalizations of Asian immigrants.
According to Pew Research Center:
An analysis of changes in the nation’s eligible voting population – U.S. citizens ages 18 and older – offers a preview of profound U.S. demographic shifts that are projected to continue for decades to come. While the nation’s 156 million non-Hispanic white eligible voters in 2016 far outnumber the 70 million eligible voters that are racial or ethnic minorities, their growth lags that of minority groups. As a result, the non-Hispanic white share of the electorate has fallen from 71% in 2012 to 69%.
There are 10.7 million more eligible voters today than there were in 2012. More than two-thirds of net growth in the U.S. electorate during this time has come from racial and ethnic minorities. Hispanics, blacks, Asians and other minorities had a net increase of 7.5 million eligible voters, compared with a net increase of 3.2 million among non-Hispanic white eligible voters.
This demographic shift has the potential to dramatically change election results, and ultimately, U.S. policy. But if young people of color want to have an impact on issues like the ongoing deportation raids, climate change, or mass incarceration, they have to actually vote. And that may shape up to be a serious problem.
That’s because Pew also reported low turnout rates in 2012 for eligible Hispanic and Asian voters: 48 percent and 47 percent, respectively, while white voter turnout was 64 percent.
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