Posted on 10/10/2008 6:04:05 AM PDT by ResistorSister
CANTON Thomas Buckius registered to vote last month when canvassers came to his neighborhood as part of a voter registration drive.
"I want (Democratic presidential nominee Barack) Obama to win because he'll be the first African-American president," said Buckius, 21, who lives in a southwest neighborhood comprising mostly of blacks. "I think he can do better than what Bush is doing."
But Obama didn't have Buckius' vote in the bank yet.
Buckius said he didn't know when Election Day was, nor where he was supposed to vote. And while Buckius insisted he'll figure out how to get to the polls, he is skeptical that many of his neighbors would join him.
His 25-year-old friend Christy Geiger said, "Nobody in this neighborhood really cares about voting."
Whether Obama or Republican John McCain win Ohio, the presidential election could be decided by how many black voters such as Buckius make it to the voting booth.
"It's probably the great unknown in this election," said William Cunion, a Mount Union College political science professor. "If young voters and black voters turn out at the same rate as older white voters, then I think Ohio goes for Obama. ... if those groups don't come out, then Ohio stays Republican."
The Obama campaign is making an unprecedented effort to boost turnout of blacks, who are seen as a cornucopia of support for the Democratic candidate. Not only are many Stark County blacks thrilled with the prospect of electing the first black president, they overwhelmingly have backed Democratic presidential candidates, at least since 1992.
And they have not voted for a candidate just because of his race. In 2006, the Republican candidate for governor, Ken Blackwell, who is black, did poorly in Stark County precincts with large numbers of black voters.
DIFFERENCE MAKER
Though only 12 percent of the state's population is black, the presidential race in Ohio is considered close enough that blacks could make the difference. An Ohio News Organization poll in mid-September found 98 percent of Ohio blacks backed Obama. Most whites did not. Campaign organizers assume they will need at least 75 percent of registered black voters to flock to the polls for Obama to win Ohio. Their goal is to achieve a turnout of 90 percent.
Democrats are concerned that some white Ohio voters will not back a black candidate, and that a sizable turnout of blacks will be needed to overcome that. In addition, they believe that an unknown number of white Democrats who are upset that Hillary Clinton didn't win the Democratic presidential nomination will support McCain.
"If we don't get a high number of African-Americans to vote in Stark County, Barack Obama loses," said Deametrious St. John, the Ohio Democratic Party's state African-American Outreach Director.
WANTED: MORE BLACK VOTERS
Despite black voters' enthusiasm for Obama, Democrats face a challenge: Black turnout has lagged behind turnout of white voters by huge margins in Stark County in the last four presidential elections.
According to the U.S. Census, 7 percent of Stark County's population is black. Most blacks live in eastern Canton in the city's second, fourth and sixth wards, Alliance's second ward and Massillon's fourth ward.
In 1992, those Canton, Alliance and Massillon wards with significant numbers of blacks had an average turnout of 68 percent. That dropped to 51 percent in 1996 and fell to 48 percent in 2000 before rebounding to 57 percent four years ago, as Democrats mobilized a more aggressive get-out-the-vote operation.
Residents of those areas overwhelmingly supported Democratic presidential nominees by margins from 3-to-1 to as large as 4-to-1 in the last 16 years. However, turnout for these wards has ranged from 12 to 20 percentage points less than the overall turnout for Stark County.
Despite Obama's popularity with blacks, turnout in wards with large numbers of blacks was 36 percent in the March primary, well below the overall turnout of 51 percent. Obama won by margins of 2-to-1 in Canton Ward 2 and 4-to-1 in Canton Ward 4 but lost Stark County to Clinton by 19 percentage points.
In contrast with Democratic candidate John Kerry's campaign in 2004, St. John said the Obama campaign is deploying double to triple the number of paid staffers and volunteers to woo black voters. Four years ago, the Kerry campaign launched African-American outreach operations in nine Ohio counties, St. John said. This election, his people are working in 26 counties, each of which have a black population of at least 5 percent.
Campaign workers are blanketing predominately black neighborhoods as well as barbershops and beauty salons to register voters and to remind registered voters to go to the polls. Others are flooding black residents with calls. Those who expressed support for Obama and have not yet cast early ballots will get even more visits and calls by Election Day.
"We don't mean to get on people's nerves, but we don't want them to forget to go vote," St. John said.
The Obama campaign enlisted Browns linebacker Willie McGinest and Cavs star LeBron James to speak at a recent Obama rally in Cleveland, where they encouraged blacks to vote.
When asked if McCain is reaching out to blacks, spokesman Paul Lindsay said McCain's campaign has an "aggressive grassroots programs" that targets all supporters, regardless of race.
Despite voter registration drives in black areas, it's not clear if the efforts are working. As of Wednesday, the number of registered voters in Alliance Ward 2, Massillon Ward 4 and Canton Wards 2, 4 and 6 were only 3 percent higher than in 2004, according to the Stark County Board of Elections. And much of that increase could be the result of an influx of white residents into Massillon Ward 4.
PSYCHOLOGY OF NOT VOTING
A high percentage of blacks do not vote because of a deep-rooted cynicism, black officials say. Many blacks believe the political system discriminates against them, that their votes aren't counted, that politicians don't care about them, and that in Canton, the city neglects infrastructure improvements in their neighborhoods.
"A lot of people feel (their vote is) not going to make much of a difference," said Alfred Stroud, 53, of Canton. "McCain's still going to get in there anyway."
Canton's Leonard Terrell, 43, hadn't voted for years. He felt apathy about politics and an intense anger against society, partially due to a snafu over a loan that would have allowed him to attend the University of Tennessee.
"My vote didn't count," he said. "If you don't have a voice, you're not going to take the time to do what you have the right to do."
But he wanted to set an example for his children. Since 2000, he's voted in every presidential election. This year, he said he will vote for Obama.
"I'm going to make an assumption there's going to be a higher turnout in (Canton's) Ward 4," he said. "Because they have a man of color. A man who looks like them. A man who sees where we're coming from."
Because voting is not an ingrained practice for many blacks, St. John said he encounters people who sincerely intend to vote but often forget or procrastinate and end up staying home on Election Day.
URGING PEOPLE TO VOTE NOW
Because of this, Obama workers are urging residents to cast ballots before Nov. 4 at the Board of Elections, rather than wait, as the initial excitement about voting could subside. Early voting was authorized under a 2005 state law. It's not clear how effective it's been. The Associated Press reported light turnout in Ohio for early voting in its first week earlier this month.
At the Edward "Peel" Coleman Community Center Friday, a campaign staffer and volunteers sat at tables, waiting for residents to show up at an early-voting rally in southeast Canton. A volunteer said rented vans had taken about 10 people to the board office in the event's first two hours.
On Sept. 30, the first day of early voting, the Stark Social Workers Network held an early-voting drive at its Harrisburg Road NE office in Canton Ward 2. Volunteers and staffers accosted people on the street, including the homeless, and offered to drive them to the Board of Elections to vote. At least a few accepted the offer.
One was Rhonda Garner, 50, of Canton. Within a few minutes, she was in a car bound for the board office on Third Street NE.
"It's too important," she said, after voting for Obama. "You can get busy and forget. Sometimes the line (on Election Day) can be too long."
At the nearby Kool Kutz, the shop's owner and barber, LaVelle Stewart, 31, had cast his ballot for Obama that day.
"We've got some in here who say (this election) won't count for anything, and that's very sad," he said. "Everybody's looking forward to the election. I think we're going to get an excellent turnout."
Black voters - How many will show up at the polls?
Turnout - Presidential elections
Year Wards* with significant black populations Stark County (overall)
1992 68% 80%
1996 51% 69%
2000 48% 68%
2004 57% 72%
2008 (March primary) 36% 51%
% Support for Democratic presidential candidates out of total vote
Year Candidate Wards* with significant black populations Stark County (overall)
1992 Bill Clinton 82% 53%
1996 Bill Clinton 74% 46%
2000 Al Gore 75% 47%
2004 John Kerry 78% 51%
2008 March Democratic presidential primary - % support for Barack Obama -
Wards* with significant black populations Stark County (overall)
64% 39%
% in those wards* that Voted for Democratic presidential candidate
* - Canton Wards 2, 4 and 6, Alliance Ward 2 and Massillon Ward 4
Source: Stark County Board of Elections
Code word for the Obama Vote Fraud Machine must be in full effect.
No worries. He’s got 125% of the black vote locked up. Literally.
Partisan media at work have sheep will feed.
...”Buckius said he didn’t know when Election Day was, nor where he was supposed to vote. And while Buckius insisted he’ll figure out how to get to the polls, he is skeptical that many of his neighbors would join him.”...
These people should not be allowed to vote - period. I would be willing to wager that this dude has no job, either. I stand by my view that voting rights should extend only to individuals who file an IRS 1040, showing taxable, earned income. No skin in the game = no vote.
They would have "MORE BLACK VOTERS " if they'd just outlaw abortion...................
Buckius certainly sounds like the type of well-informed citizen we need showing up at the polls./s
He’s 21, so I can understand not knowing where to vote, but how clueless and uninformed does one have to be not to know WHEN the election is by this point?
If it comes to pass that McPalin is elected, it may well be because the youts mentioned in the article are currently counted as Zero supporters in the polls. However, they have no real intention to vote and probably will not.
It is imperative that all Republicans, conservative, liberal, and undecided, show up at the polls and vote the ‘R’ ticket at the top, and down the ticket if you like those folks.
“I want (Democratic presidential nominee Barack) Obama to win because he’ll be the first African-American president”
Do you also want a socialist who will destroy your chances of having a decent job to also win? Two for the price of one on this one.
Buckius, the election is November 11 and your precinct is to vote in Windsor.
HA! HA! HA! HA! (bending over an slapping knee, taking a deep breath) HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! (standing up and wiping tears from corners of my eyes) Chuckle..... Chuckle......
This is the reason Ohio's Sec'y of State Brunner put in place the policy of same day registration and voting. ACORN might be able to get people to spend a couple of hours on one day to elect dems, but never could ACORN get folks from this area to invest two days in the dems.
or how about if we remove income tax and replace it with a consumption tax, then they won’t be voting to redistribute our income.
Add to this the 120,000 total votes margin that President Bush had in Ohio in 2004 over Kerry then the black racist is behind by 420,000 votes in Ohio.
Poor Bill! Forgotten so soon! /snic
Fine with me. Redistribution of income by politicians from the group that earns it to the group that does not is nothing more than legalized theft, robbery.
I fear if Obama is elected with a filibuster-proof congressional democrat majority, we could see a second American revolution. People are getting that angry.
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