Page 368 - Essencials of Sociology

the U.S. political System 341

Table 11.1 Who Votes for President?

1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
Overall
Americans Who Voted 57% 61% 54% 55% 58% 58% 57%
Age
18–20 33% 39% 31% 28% 41% 41% 33%
21–24 38% 46% 33% 35% 43% 47% 47%
25–34 48% 53% 43% 44% 47% 49% 46%
35–44 61% 64% 55% 55% 57% 55% 53%
45–64 68% 70% 64% 64% 67% 65% 63%
65 and older 69% 70% 67% 68% 69% 68% 69%
Sex
Male 56% 60% 53% 53% 56% 56% 54%
Female 58% 62% 56% 56% 60% 60% 59%
Race–Ethnicity
Whites 59% 64% 56% 56% 60% 60% 58%
African Americans 52% 54% 51% 54% 56% 61% 62%
Asian Americans NA NA NA 25% 30% 32% 31%
Latinos 29% 29% 27% 28% 28% 32% 32%
Education
Some high school 41% 41% 34% 34% 35% 34% 32%
High school graduates 55% 58% 49% 49% 52% 51% 49%
Some college 65% 69% 61% 60% 66% 65% 62%
College graduates 78% 81% 73% 72% 74% 73% 72%
Marital Status
Married NA NA 66% 67% 71% 70% 69%
Divorced NA NA 50% 53% 58% 59% 59%
Labor Force
Employed 58% 64% 55% 56% 60% 60% 59%
Unemployed 39% 46% 37% 35% 46% 49% 46%
Income 1
Under $20,000 NA NA NA NA 48% 52% 48%
$20,000 to $30,000 NA NA NA NA 58% 56% 56%
$30,000 to $40,000 NA NA NA NA 62% 62% 58%
$40,000 to $50,000 NA NA NA NA 69% 65% 63%
$50,000 to $75,000 NA NA NA NA 72% 71% 68%
$75,000 to $100,000 NA NA NA NA 78% 76% 74%
Over $100,000 NA NA NA NA 81% 92% 79%
1 The primary source changed the income categories in 2004, making the data from earlier presidential election years
incompatible.
Sources: By the author. Based on Casper and Bass 1998; Jamieson et al. 2002; Holder 2006; Current Population Survey: Voting
and Registration Supplement 2012; Statistical Abstract of the United States 1991:Table 450; 1997:Table 462; 2013:Table 407.

women are more likely to vote Democratic. This table also illustrates the much larger
racial–ethnic gap in politics. Note how few African Americans vote for a Republican
presidential candidate.
You can use Table 11.1 to help explain Table 11.2. You just saw that voting patterns
reflect life experiences, especially people’s economic conditions. On average, women earn
less than men, and African Americans earn less than whites. As a result, at this point in his-
tory, women and African Americans tend to look more favorably on government programs
that redistribute income, and they are more likely to vote for Democrats. As you can see in
this table, Asian American voters, with their higher average incomes, are an exception to
this pattern. Attempted explanations are far from satisfactory (Logan et al. 2012), but the
reason could be a lesser emphasis on individualism in the Asian American subculture.