Best Picture Of 2008 Electorate To Date

It's taken about a year, but thanks to new Census numbers and to Project Vote, we now have the most accurate picture of who voted, who didn't vote, and how the voting patterns compare to previous elections.

That statement was taken from the opening paragraph of this interesting article by Marc Ambinder, published in The Atlantic on November 23rd.

The article contains a lot of interesting facts pertaining to the 2008 presidential election, such as:

* Women turned out at a higher rate than men.

* Non-whites made up more than 90% of the increase in the total number of voters.

* Latino women and women under thirty grew by 6% and Asian women saw their participation rates grow by 13 points.

* Young black women voted at the highest rate among voters under 30 -- and the only turnout rate that exceed the voting rates by white people of any age.

* For the first time in recorded memory, voting rates for those under 30 increased; voting rates for those over 30 did not.

* Young voter turnout has increased at a rate of about 30% per general election since 2000. Indeed, the rate of increase was higher from 2000 to 2004 than from 2004 to 2008.

For great election and voting related stories check out theHeadCount blog. If you liked this blog post, then check out this recent HeadCount post "The Stats Are In: You Voted."