In a general election, black voters have constituted about 12 percent of the total vote, while white voters have constituted about 79 percent of the total vote. The black vote – though only 12 percent- can make the key difference in the key swing states.
Lewis W. Duiguid ,writer for the Kansas City Star, states
It wasn’t a fluke that Romney addressed the NAACP convention this month in Houston. Sure he was booed, saying he’d spike the Affordable Care Act. But Romney gained respect by speaking to the oldest and largest civil rights group, unlike George W. Bush, who declined invitations during most of his presidency, and Ross Perot, who in 1992 referred to blacks at the NAACP as “you people.”
Without a doubt Republicans are tracking blacks’ growing electoral strength. They know that 90 percent of blacks voted for Obama in 2008. But the Urban League report shows he will need every one of those ballots and more to win in November.
The report said that if the African-American registration rate rises 8 percentage points from 2008 to 78.3 percent and the turnout is equal to four years ago, then an additional 3 million African-Americans will cast ballots in the presidential election. The black registration rate in 2008 was almost 4 points below the white rate and 1 point below the white turnout rate.
