The recent report that 8 million African Americans are not registered to vote brought gasps of disbelief, cries of shame and head-shaking reproach. It also stirred a mild soul search among blacks about how and why the numbers of unregistered voters are so appallingly high.
The figure was cited in September by Rick Wade, who handles African-American voter outreach for the Obama campaign, which was alarmed at the high number because of the potentially damaging effect it could have on Obama in a close contest. Bush’s razor-thin victories in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 underscore the importance of a maximum black voter turnout. But the problem of getting blacks to the polls may be even greater than the Obama campaign realizes, and that starts with the figure of 8 million unregistered voters. The number may be much higher.
According to Census figures, there were 28 million African-American adults aged 18 or over in 2006. In the 2004 presidential election, they made up 12 percent of the voters, or about 13 million voters. That means an estimated 15 million voting-age blacks did not vote. The ban on ex-felon voting in 15 states further ramps up the number of ineligible blacks. Forty percent of ex-felons banned from the polls are black males. They make up another 3 million potential black voters. That means there are an estimated 12 million African-American adults who are either officially barred from voting, or decline to vote.
The reason so many blacks don’t vote is chalked up to apathy, laziness, ignorance and cynicism toward politicians. By not voting, critics say, they betray the struggle and sacrifice of those who fought and in some cases died for the right of blacks to vote. This guilt-laden reprimand is much too simplistic
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