Changing the Nation?
The nation shifted dramatically to voting with the Democratic Party and race functions as primary element to understanding this shift. This cartogram illustrates that places with a high black population also saw a great shift towards the Democratic Party by voting for Obama. Although this can be attributed to most African Americans voting for Obama, one must also consider the role of voter turnout. The 2008 election saw an increase in total voter turnout and Southern states with large black populations recording the greatest increase in turnout rates. In Mississippi, the rate increased by eight percentage points compared with 2004 — to 69.7 percent, from 61.7 percent (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/us/politics/01census.html). Obama scored upsets in several Southern states. These victories can be partially attributed to a surge in turnout among black populations. The shift they created is visible as the places with a large black population tended to move Democratic.