Google GIS Group 5: Howard Babin, Nathaniel Brummett, Daniel
Howard, Elisabeth Long
The Introduction:
GIS Group 5’s goal was to examine the voting
habits of the elderly population (aged 65 and older) in all fifty states.
We then compared the results of the elderly voting habits from the 2008
Presidential election to the results of the state as a whole. We hoped to
discover whether or not the elderly population has an impact on whether the
state votes Democrat or Republican. Our hypothesis proposes that the
elderly will vote more toward a Republican stance because of their conservative
disposition.
Research & Method:
In researching for our project we went to CNN to
find the voting statistics for each state and the voting statistics of the elderly
population per state. We also went
online to the United States Census Bureau to get the elderly population, the
total of elderly registered voters and the total number of the elderly
population that voted in the 2008 Presidential election by the thousands. One question we asked was what percentage of
elderly Americans had disabilities during the 2008 Presidential election. We received
this information from the Almanac of the 50 States (2010 edition).
Fusion Tables:
The Fusion Table consists of the collection of
data from all fifty states in a single spreadsheet. It displays all fifty
states, the total population of American citizens aged sixty-five and older,
the total number of registered voters, and the total number of people who
actually voted all in thousands for the 2008 Presidential election. It also
details the percentage of whether the elderly population of the state voted
conservative or liberal, including the percentage of those who voted other. The
second to last column tells if the senior citizen population corresponds with
which way the state voted as a whole. Finally, the last column in our Fusion
Table details the percentage of elderly affected with disabilities in each
state.
Map 1:
The first Google Merge Map states how each state
voted as a whole for either Democratic or Republican. The two colors on the map
represent blue for Democratic states and red for Republican states. States that
are colored purple signify an equal split in the voting. The only purple state
was Wisconsin. The information box contains information on the selected State including
data on the total elderly population, with the total registered and voted
following. Succeeding is the percentage of elderly who voted either Democratic
or Republican including those who voted for other parties. In order for us to
be able to correctly provide the color for the voting patterns, we had to
create a “Which way the state as a whole went”. We provided Republican states
with the number forty-five and Democratic with fifty-five, while fifty provided
a neutral standing. Finally we added what percentage of the elderly had
disabilities.
Map 2:
The second Google Merge Map provides the same
information box as the first map. Unlike the first we color coded the map to
match how the elderly population voted either Democratic or Republican for each
state.
The Results:
We discovered
that the elderly population in each state had a tendency to vote more
Republican rather than Democratic, having sixteen states vote Democratic and
thirty-four states vote Republican. In comparison, the entire population of
each state had a greater balance in whether the state voted conservative or
liberal. A total of twenty-three states voted Republican, while only twenty-six
went Democratic with one Neutral state.
Analysis of Results:
To explain the more conservative elderly voters
we can look to an article in The American Electorate:
Attitudes and Action. According to the article, younger
voters tend to have a more liberal position then older voters. This “generation gap” is caused by the
radical societal changes going on at the time of the younger generations’
upbringing. With issues like economic
and domestic matters, foreign policy matters, and education the elderly are
more likely to take a conservative position opposed to the younger voters. When dealing with matters like health care,
jobs, and the standard of living the elderly are more likely to support
government action because they care more about those issues. One explanation
for this is as people grow older they become comfortable in their social
situation. This comfort and familiarity
is a safety blanket they are unwilling to let go of so they are less likely to
accept change. Elderly people have also not generally tried to get policies
that are beneficial to their demographic. During 1979, the political actions
made political scientists speculate about the possible formation of a group
made up of the elderly to pursue their common political goals.
Another source of information is
“Older Voters and
the 2008 Election”. According to the article in the 2008 election the
majority of elderly voted 65 and older voted for John McCain, the losing
candidate. The elderly demographic was the only age demographic that voted in
favor of John McCain. Why? One factor is that McCain was 72 years old while
Barrack Obama was 48 years old at the time of the 2008 election and therefore
McCain was believed to be more relatable to the voters in his age group. The
elderly vote being majority republican was a change from the 2000 election
results in which voters 60 and over favored democratic candidate John Kerry.
Race may have also been a factor because Barrack Obama is not of white decent.
The 2008 results show that voters ages 30 and over voted in favor of McCain
while voters ages 18-29 voted in favor of Obama. Voting results show that white
voters of all ages supported McCain with 55% of the vote while black voters of
all ages supported Obama with 95% of the vote. In coming elections it will be
important to pay attention to the elderly vote again to see how race, gender,
age, and party affect the voting results.
Citations:
Citations:
Binstock, Robert H. “ Older Voters and the 2008
Election”. The Gerontologist. Oct. 2009. A Academic
OneFile. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
Campbell,
Bruce A. The American Electorate:
Attitudes and Action. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979. Print.
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2008/tables.html Table 4c.
Reported Voting and Registration of the Total Voting-Age Population, by Age, for States: November 2008
“Disability Status of Population, 2008” per State in
Almanac of the 50 States:Comparative Data Profiles &Guide to Government
Data 2010 Edition
