This past election to me has been defined by those who ‘didn’t’ vote as much as those who voted.
While it’s healthy for Democrats to try to figure out how to improve with WWC voters, it shouldn’t be overlooked how significant numbers of POC didn’t turn out to vote in this election.
The NY Times piece, "Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didn’t Vote — and Don’t Regret It", shines some light on why voter turnout was down in places like Milwaukee. As expected, the higher than usual Negative popularity of both candidates was a major factor. Economic issues were also cited by some in the article.
It’s not clear how much Wisconsin’s Voter ID law affected turnout. The NYT article addresses it but doesn’t cite evidence showing that it was a factor in Trump winning Wisconsin.
Good read if for no other reason than it takes a break from the overdone narratives about Democrats losing WWC voters…
“I’m so numb,” said Jahn Toney, 45, who had written in Mr. Sanders. He said no president in his lifetime had done anything to improve the lives of black people, including Mr. Obama, whom he voted for twice. “It’s like I should have known this would happen. We’re worse off than before.”
But Mr. Obama did do something important: “He did give black people something to aspire to. That’s a lot. I’m happy my son was able to see a black president.”
Mr. Fleming, 47, who has been trimming hair, beards and mustaches for 30 years, had hoped his small business would get easier to run. But it hasn’t.
“Give us loans, or a 401(k),” he said, trimming the mustache of Steve Stricklin, a firefighter from the neighborhood. His biggest issue was health insurance. Mr. Fleming lost his coverage after his divorce three years ago and has struggled to find a policy he could afford. He finally found one, which starts Monday but costs too much at $300 a month.
“Ain’t none of this been working,” he said. He did not vote.