Voter Turnout Remained Low in Some Parts of Atlanta, even during Presidential Election
(APN) ATLANTA — Democracy advocates cheered the massive voter turnout seen nationwide during the Nov. 03, 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, as an estimated 65.3 percent of eligible U.S. voters turned out to vote – the highest percentage seen since 1908.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/elections/voter-turnout/
And yet, not all communities enjoyed this same level of electoral participation.
Some fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters in the City of Atlanta voted in the Nov. 03, 2020 Presidential Election.
220,987 voters cast a ballot, out of the 371,481 registered voters in the City of Atlanta who were eligible to cast a ballot, according to Fulton County Election Results reviewed by Atlanta Progressive News.
However, 32 of Atlanta’s 167 voting precincts had voter turnout of fewer than forty percent of eligible voters.
https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/GA/Fulton/105430/web.264614/#/reporting
Voter Turnout by Council District
The City of Atlanta is divided into twelve City Council Districts (see below for the current map).
The percentage of registered City of Atlanta voters who casted a ballot in the November 03, 2020 General Election ranges from a low of 36 percent in City Council District 4 to 78 percent voter turnout in Council District 8.
Council districts with the highest voter turnout (> 70%), districts 6, 7 and 8, are located on Atlanta’s northside and predominately White and affluent neighborhoods.
Council districts with the lowest voter turnout (fewer than fifty percent)–Districts 3, 4, and 12–are located on Atlanta’s southside and consist of predominantly Black neighborhoods with low median household incomes and higher percentages of poverty.
Low voter turnout is not new for the south side of Atlanta.
Districts 3 and 4 had exceptionally low voter turnout in recent special elections.
In March 2019, voter turnout in the City Council District 3 Special Election was less than seven percent. In the September 2019 Atlanta Board of Education District 2 Special Election, voter turnout of registered voters was less than two percent!
For a complete graphic presentation of Atlanta’s Missing Electorate, please click below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yjfp-d7l6OaTT-MI8Pt5blQ1qYnQyh4j/view
(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2020)