How Ferguson’s Black Majority Can Take Control of Their City

[Omaha Steve]

http://inthesetimes.com/article/17301/the_lesson_from_ferguson_about_why_you_should_vote



WEB ONLY / FEATURES » NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Our analysis of the voting data shows that when only white people vote, only white people get elected.
BY AMARIS MONTES AND ZACK AVRE

As we approach the midterm elections, many analysts are suggesting that our usually low midterm turnout—averaging about 2 in 5 eligible voters in recent decades—may dip even lower. That’s despite these elections drawing more spending than any midterm election in history.

But the picture is even worse in local elections—not only in numbers, but in equity in demographics such as age and race, raising serious questions about the disengagement of a growing number of Americans from their municipal governments. Most local elections in the United States are held in odd years, apart from elections for state and federal government, often at times of the year that many people don’t associate with voting.

Take Ferguson, Missouri, where there is continued unrest in the wake of Michael Brown’s shooting by a police officer. Only three out of 53 police officers and one out of six council members are African American in the nearly 70 percent black city. The distorted makeup of the City Council and police force have led many to ask: Why does Ferguson’s city government not reflect the city it represents?

Using L2’s VoterMapping software, we traced voter turnout in Ferguson in all elections since 2008, paying particular attention to disparities among racial and age groups. Our findings confirm that voters in Ferguson’s elections are significantly older and whiter than the presidential election electorate and adult population.

FULL story at link.

[Cha]

1. VOTING!

[Nevernose]

2. I wonder how much the over representation of blacks

...of blacks in the criminal justice system plays into the voting demographics, specifically in Ferguson.

Seems like it would be an interesting thesis or dissertation or research avenue for criminologists, sociologists, etc.