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Early voting ends, turnout low among minorities in Cook County suburbs [Illinois]
Medill Reports ^ | 10/28/10 | Alexander Wilson

Posted on 10/28/2010 8:28:35 PM PDT by freespirited

Turnout in polling places in suburban Cook County show that residents in several areas with large minority populations did not vote early.

Numbers released Thursday by the Cook County clerk showed that places like Park Forest and Cicero had lackluster turnout at early voting locations. Park Forest has a minority population of 61 percent, with an African American population of 55 percent. The total population of the suburb is more than 22,000, but as of Wednesday only 747 people had voted.

Cicero has over 26,000 registered voters with 77 percent Hispanic, but as of Wednesday only 921 people had shown up at either of two early voting locations.

By contrast, affluent and white residents turned out for early voting in greater numbers. Orland Park, which has a population that is 87 percent white, was the largest early voting site. More than 5,000 residents voted early there this year.

The trend fits conventional wisdom for the election year, with excitement for the election season coming from older, white voters—a demographic that tends to be conservative.

A total of 72,244 suburban residents voted early this year, according to the Cook County clerk.

Democratic candidates are relying on minority voters this election season to fend off conservative opposition. African-Americans voted at 95 percent for Democrats in 2008 and Hispanics have voted at 2-1 for Democrats.

Several of the voters at the board of elections office on 69 W. Washington St. Thursday were from the suburbs. One voter was an African-American from south suburban Calumet City. She said that she voted straight Democratic.

“I believe in what President Obama’s doing,” the woman, Sylvia Davis said. “I believe in his agenda and I believe if we don’t vote then we’re just turning back the hands of time.”

But the overall low early voter turnout among minorities could signal that Democratic candidates might be in trouble. One political expert, however, said a number of factors could be at play.

David Yepsen, the director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, said Thursday “this is something new in Illinois politics so it’s a little difficult to read tea leaves.” The higher turnout among affluent voters could mean those residents have more free time to go to the polls early, he said.

But he also said that Democrats have had a difficult time getting its base as excited this year as they were in 2008.

Yepsen also pointed out that in 2006 Democrats won big in Illinois, a year in which several minority areas did not have early voting polling locations.

Courtney Greve, a spokeswoman for Cook County Clerk David Orr, said that suburbanites were permitted to use any polling location in the suburbs or the board of elections office downtown in Chicago, but polls have shown most people voted close to home.


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cookcounty; earlyvoting
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The trend fits conventional wisdom for the election year, with excitement for the election season coming from older, white voters—a demographic that tends to be conservative.

The next enemy of the left: old white folks.

1 posted on 10/28/2010 8:28:39 PM PDT by freespirited
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To: freespirited

Sounds like 0bama’s epic fail includes his old communities.


2 posted on 10/28/2010 8:31:03 PM PDT by Post Toasties (Leftists act as though the world is as they wish it to be; conservatives try to improve what exists.)
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To: freespirited

Hey, old white folks are easy to kill, and then they can vote Democrat!


3 posted on 10/28/2010 8:32:38 PM PDT by Post Toasties (Leftists act as though the world is as they wish it to be; conservatives try to improve what exists.)
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To: freespirited

Is possible that more than 22,000 mail in ballots will appear by Tues. evening?


4 posted on 10/28/2010 8:34:26 PM PDT by givemELL (Does Taiwan eet the Criteria to Qualify as an "Overseas Territory of the United States"? by Richar)
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To: freespirited

I think we all know by the time the polls close everyone in that neighborhood will have voted whether they are above or below the ground.


5 posted on 10/28/2010 8:34:33 PM PDT by Parley Baer
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To: freespirited

This ain’t Bama in ‘08. No “walkin around money”, no votes.


6 posted on 10/28/2010 8:34:41 PM PDT by Thrownatbirth (.....Iraq Invasion fan since '91.)
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To: freespirited

I hope that this is indicative of a national trend.


7 posted on 10/28/2010 8:34:41 PM PDT by no dems (DeMINT / PALIN 2012 or PALIN / DeMINT 2012.......Either is fine with me!)
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To: Post Toasties

...this means nothing!...on Nov 3 thousands and thousands of Dem ‘lost’ votes will be discovered.


8 posted on 10/28/2010 8:34:49 PM PDT by STONEWALLS
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To: freespirited

They aren’t stupid. There is no free stuff for voting early. You get PAID for voting on election day.


9 posted on 10/28/2010 8:34:52 PM PDT by IrishCatholic (No local Communist or Socialist Party Chapter? Join the Democrats, it's the same thing!)
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To: Post Toasties

I check, every time I vote, to make sure my deceased parents aren’t voting.


10 posted on 10/28/2010 8:36:46 PM PDT by barbarianbabs
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To: freespirited

It doesn’t matter, they all voted anyway. lol


11 posted on 10/28/2010 8:37:07 PM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: freespirited
The higher turnout among affluent voters could mean those residents have more free time to go to the polls early, he said.

It could also mean that they care more about America than they do sitting around on their fat asses, watching "The View" and Oprah while eating a couple of crates of bon bons.

12 posted on 10/28/2010 8:37:34 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Just another white boy slurping a Slurpee while riding along in the back of the bus.)
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To: freespirited
Hey, Cook County?

(I think the dead in Cook Co. are waiting til Halloween night to rise up to drag-scrape their bones to the voting booths on Tuesday)

13 posted on 10/28/2010 8:37:49 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: freespirited

No reason to vote in Cook Co.

The fix is in.


14 posted on 10/28/2010 8:37:57 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: freespirited
The higher turnout among affluent voters could mean those residents have more free time to go to the polls early, he said.

Sure, white affluent voters just sit around all day doing nothing.

15 posted on 10/28/2010 8:38:52 PM PDT by ladyjane
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To: IrishCatholic

And probably double the usual with how desperate they’ll be for some legit votes...! LOL


16 posted on 10/28/2010 8:39:41 PM PDT by MNlurker
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To: freespirited

They got that covered with his health bill. Elders first hit.


17 posted on 10/28/2010 8:39:54 PM PDT by Soul Seeker ( I was there when we had the numbers, but didnÂ’t have the principles.---Jim DeMint)
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To: Post Toasties
Sounds like 0bama’s epic fail includes his old communities.

--------------------------

MORE THAN A THUMPIN'

The Rats are shovel-ready for the dust bin of history.

Obama and Michelle - Commie Red Devil-3sm
Mr. & Mrs. Liar in chief.

limitations

This ain't going to end well for these Statists

18 posted on 10/28/2010 8:40:10 PM PDT by BobP (The piss-stream media - Never to be watched again in my house)
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To: freespirited

The higher turnout among affluent voters could mean those residents have more free time to go to the polls early, he said.”

Uhhh OK, yeah that must be it. Or, it may be more like we know the yutes aren’t too excited and now their most reliable voting bloc is MIA. I think this could get a fair degree uglier for the dims than what the polls are presently indicating.


19 posted on 10/28/2010 8:40:58 PM PDT by bereanway (I'd rather have 40 Marco Rubios than 60 Arlen Specters)
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To: Post Toasties

Nevada has lots of rural residents.

The lines were out the door & down the block in Carson City on the first day of early voting. I haven’t heard the numbers so far- but it ends tomorrow night.

I know there were alot of voters.


20 posted on 10/28/2010 8:43:56 PM PDT by ridesthemiles
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