3 in 10: Obamanos!

One third of eligible American voters didn't vote.  So 7 out of 10 eligible voters either voted for McCain (or someone else) or didn't vote.   Barack Obama had 3 in 10 eligible voters who pulled the lever for him. 

Just thought I'd give you a statistic you probably aren't thinking about that came up in comments on my post yesterday. I researched the numbers and although not exact because some numbers are still outstanding, I thought it was interesting.  (So is the fact that other than the JFK/Nixon election, you'd have to go back 100 years to find out a season that drew this high of a percent of eligible voters). 11/9 update for more exact figures: Between 60.7 percent and 61.7 percent of the 208.3 million eligible voters cast ballots this year, compared with 60.6 percent of those eligible in 2004

Other than that, all I've done is cull through a few of the 88,200 obama designs on 2,630,000 products on just one site alone, made by everyday Joes and Janes.  Joe as in Joe Everyman. 

This is the icononization of the idea of the candidate.  The obama logos proliferate, ad infinitum, in a post-postmodern way -- iteration after iteration after iteration.  It is the idea of the idea that morphs and is never static, never grows stale, can always be open to being reinterpreted yet resonate and hold meaning.

This election season engaged at least 64% of the eligible voters and numerous others in the cultural conversation, especially digitally, in a place that knows no bounds. Except the limitations of who could and did act to actually vote.  36% of Americans can't get off the couch.

Political Communication and Design posts:
Rhetoric, from Aristotle to Obama
The Obama Poster
Presidential Campaign Logos
Word Art: Talking Points
The Che Factor
Political Art: Powerful Tools in the Icon Age

latest:
Hottest Political Art for the Presidential Campaign
The O for All: A New World Logo

Comments

[Gnome]

I'm sorry, I don't understand the math. Are you saying Obama only got a third of the vote, and McCain got 3/4s? 3 out of 10 and 7 out of 10, how come McCain lost by the popular vote then?

[Lauri]

Wow, I thought with all the lines and big numbers of voters we might be at 75 or even 80%. 64% isn't that high.

[MotherPie]

Obama got 68 million votes (52% of 131 million votes cast).McCain got almost 63 million votes (48% of 131 million).

Here's the big point: over 73 million eligible voters did not vote at all. Obama had 3 out of 10 eligibile voters vote for him.

This means that 7 out of 10 eligible voters in the US did not cast a vote for Obama.

It was important that we had lots of people engaging and voting -- more than we have had in years. Still, to have the biggest group be the NON-VOTERS says something important.

[Hattie]

We had our usual low turnout here in Hawaii. Well, everyone knew Obama would take this state, but there were all kinds of local elections and initiatives that were important. So people who did not vote can't complain about issues they disenfrancised themselves on.
I would like to see political parties spend more on voter education, not just pushing their candidates but educating them on the issues. Many citizens here want certain reforms but don't see the connection between how they vote (or don't vote) and what kind of changes they can get.
As it is, important issues get passed over, and the right wing politicos use the initiative and referendum system to activate their base. The anti gay marriage bill is an example of that.
I am hoping that our new president will set a new example for citizens which will encourage a more intelligent political life in this country.

[Janet]

I know a few people who didn't bother knowing that McCain would take this state anyway, but I also talked to someone yesterday who said she hasn't voted in 33 years because when she was a child her political-office-holder father made her pass out his flyers and campaign for him at every election. By the time she was 18 she was sick to death of it and hasn't paid any attention to politics since. An interesting legacy for a political man to leave.

[gnome]

Ok, so 131 million voted, 73 million didn't vote(not the biggest group), and Obama got 52% of the 131. I think staying home is a statement in itself, don't you? More Republicans didn't vote this time, and I understand why. You have a point though, most eligible voters did not vote for Obama (or McCain). But the same could be said of George Bush in 2000 and 2004, couldn't it? Lots of people felt disenfranchised then, shoe's on the other foot now.