FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2000
Public Information Office CB00-139
301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: pio@census.gov
Jennifer Day
301-457-2464
Number of Hispanics Who Vote Up "Sharply,"
Census Bureau Reports
More than one-half million more Hispanics voted in the congressional
elections of 1998 than did in 1994, increasing this ethnic group's
presence at the polls from 3.5 million to 4.1 million, according to new
analysis today of a recent report by the Commerce Department's Census
Bureau.
"While the overall number of voters nationwide dropped by 2.6 million,
the number of Hispanics going to the polls between 1994 and 1998 rose
sharply," said Jennifer Day, co-author of Voting and Registration in the
Election of November 1998, a report released in July.
Day noted that the number of Hispanic citizens of voting age increased
from 10.4 million in 1994 to 12.4 million in 1998.
The overall turnout rate for Hispanic citizens of voting age was
unchanged between 1994 and 1998 33 percent. Nationally, the turnout rate
for all U.S. citizens of voting age fell from 48 percent in 1994 to 45
percent in 1998, which was the lowest participation rate recorded since
the Census Bureau began collecting voting and registration data in 1964.
The data in the report were collected in the November 1998 Current
Population Survey (CPS) two weeks after the election. As in all surveys,
data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of errors. The
CPS routinely overestimates voter turnout. Possible reasons include
understatement of actual votes cast; overreporting by survey respondents
who want to demonstrate their civic responsibility; misreporting of voting
because of refusals or lack of knowledge on the part of proxy respondents;
and survey undercoverage.
Table 1. Citizen Voting-Age Population, Number Voted, and Percent Voted,
1994 and 1998 (Numbers in thousands)
Voting-Age Population|Number Voted | Percent Voted
1994 1998 1994 1998 1994 1998
Citizens 18 years and older
Total 177,260 183,451 85,702 83,098 48.3 45.3
White 151,432 155,369 75,769 71,871 50.0 46.3
Black 20,829 22,074 8,095 9,223 38.9 41.8
Asian and 2,684 4,422 1,057 1,431 39.4 32.4
Pacific Islander
Hispanic * 10,350 12,396 3,522 4,068 34.0* 32.8*
White non Hispanic 142,357 143,650 72,614 68,068 51.0 47.4
Black non Hispanic 20,662 21,613 8,048 9,044 39.0 41.8
Asian and Pacific 2,632 4,344 1,038 1,404 39.4 32.3
Islander non Hispanic
*Percent voted in 1994 and 1998 not significantly different.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey.
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