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.2 U.S.Census Bureau, Reported Voting, 2000 and 2004,18- to 24-Year-OldsIndividuals by race/ethnic group 2000 (%) 2004 (%)Total youth 32.3 41.9/46.7*White, non-Hispanic 37.0 48.5/49.8*Black 33.9 44.0/47.0*Latino 15.4 20.4/33.0*Asian 15.9 23.4/34.2** Percentage of citizens ages 18 to 24 who voted.Data for whites represent percentageof white non-Hispanics ages 18 to 24 who reported voting.Source: U.S.Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Reported Voting andRegistration by Race, Hispanic Origin, Sex, and Age Groups: November 1964 to 2008were evident that year, with 49 percent of white youth and 50 percentof young white citizens aged 18 24 going to the polls.Both groupsexperienced a jump in participation of at least 10 percentage pointsbetween 2000 and 2004.Approximately 20 percent of Latino youthand 33 percent of Latino citizens aged 18 24 voted in 2004, up 5 per-cent from 15 percent of all Latino youth in 2000.23 Sixteen percent ofAsian youth voted in 2000; this group also staged an increase in theirvoting percentage in 2004, with 23 percent of Asian youth and 34 per-cent of young Asian citizens aged 18 24 voting.The figures for bothLatino and Asian youth no doubt represent the specific challengesthese groups face regarding formal representation.24Table 5.3 confirms that data from the Black Youth Project generallycorrespond to the figures reported from the Census Bureau and othertable 5.3 Youth Voting, U.S.Census and Black YouthProject ComparisonRace/ethnic group Black Youth Project, 2004, U.S.Census Bureau, 2004,percentage who reported percentage who reportedvoting, ages 18 24 (%) voting, ages 18 24 (%)White youth 50.0 48.5/ 49.8*Black youth 40.0 44.0 / 47.0*Latino youth 23.0 20.4 / 33.0** Percentage of citizens ages 18 to 24 who voted.Data for whites represent percentage ofwhite non-Hispanics ages 18 to 24 who reported voting.Source: U.S.Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Reported Voting and Registrationby Race, Hispanic Origin, Sex, and Age Groups: November 1964 to 2008166 Democracy Remixed table 5.4 Sex Gap in Youth Voting in 2004Race/ethnic group Black Youth Projectand gender reported voting (%)Black females 47Black males 30White females 56White males 45Latina females 20Latino males 26Source: The Black Youth Projectsurveys of youth voting in the 2004 presidential election, although thegap between black and white youth voters is higher in the Black YouthProject data than reported in the census data.25 Approximately 50percent of white respondents ages 18 25 reported voting in the 2004election.Among black respondents, 40 percent said they voted, with23 percent of Latinos indicating they did so.As is the trend, femalesvoted at higher rates than males among black and white respondents,as demonstrated in table 5.4.In contrast, Latinas reported voting atlower rates than young Latino males.Of course, understanding trends in turnout is important for thelarger context of measuring the youth vote, but ultimately much ofour interest is devoted to the following question: For whom did theyvote? Not surprising, data from the Black Youth Project detailed intable 5.5 indicate that 90 percent of black youth who voted in 2004 casta ballot for John Kerry.Only 3 percent reported voting for GeorgeBush.Another 4 percent of young black adults said they voted forsomeone other than the two major candidates, with a final 3 percentrefusing to share their vote choice.Interestingly, while gender seemed to make little difference in votechoice among black youth, with approximately 90 percent of young blackmales and females casting a ballot for Kerry, age did show marked differ-ences.Specifically, 94 percent of black voters aged 18 21 voted for Kerry,while 84 percent of black adults ages 22 25 indicated they voted forKerry.Significantly, 7 percent of black 22- to 25-year-olds said they votedfor someone other than Bush or Kerry, compared to 1 percent of 18- to21-year-old black voters.While black youth turned out overwhelminglyfor Kerry, the increase in voting for a third candidate among black youthvoters age 22 25 might suggest increased skepticism toward the idea thatcandidates from either major party, the Democrats or the Republicans,will truly address the issues confronting black communities. Fight the Power 167 table 5.5 Youth Vote in 2004 Presidential Election2004 vote choice by John Kerry George Bush Other Refused to sharerace/ethnic group (%) (%) (%) vote choice (%)Black youth 90 3 4 3Latino youth 74 19 3 4White youth 49 45 3 3Source: The Black Youth ProjectAmong Latino youth voters, a significant majority, 74 percent,indicated they voted for John Kerry, with 19 percent voting for Bush,4 percent refusing to divulge for whom they voted, and 3 percent indi-cating they voted for someone else.There were disparities in the Latinovote of both age and gender.Among young Latino men, 79 percentvoted for Kerry and 19 percent for Bush.Sixty-five percent of youngLatinas reported voting for Kerry, with 20 percent voting for Bush andanother 12 percent refusing to say for whom they voted.We also findage discrepancies in voting among Latinos, but in the opposite direc-tion identified for blacks, with more 22- to 25-year-old Latinos votingfor Kerry than did those aged 18 21.Eighty-four percent of Latinosaged 22 25 voted for Kerry, compared to 63 percent of those aged18 21.Of those who voted for Bush, 9 percent of Latinos aged 22 25and 30 percent of those aged 18 21 said they made such a choice.Young white voters are the only group in which we see a nearly evendivision in vote choice
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