pop, "Voter Turnout in November 1994 Election" (6/8/95)

            EMBARGOED UNTIL:  JUNE 8, 1995 (THURSDAY)

Public Information Office                              CB95-105
301-457-2794
301-457-4067 (TDD)

Lynne Casper
301-457-2445

       TURNOUT IN '94 CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS--45 PERCENT;
             YOUNG VOTER PARTICIPATION SHOWS NO GAIN

     EMBARGOED UNTIL:  JUNE 8, 1995 (THURSDAY) - Forty-five
percent of those old enough to vote cast ballots in the November
1994 congressional elections and turnout by 18- to 24-year-olds
showed no change from a one-in-five turnout in 1990, the Commerce
Department's Census Bureau said today.

     The percentage of the resident population 18 years old and
over who said they voted in November 1994 (about 85 million
persons) was unchanged from 1990.  "Many people may be surprised
by these findings.  Because of the high turnover of elected
officials, some people expected a higher voter turnout.  Our data
show this was not the case," said Lynne Casper, a Census Bureau
demographer.

     The low turnout by 18- to 24-year-olds in 1994 contrasts
with a 7 percent increase in voter participation by this age
group between the 1988 and 1992 presidential elections (from 
36 percent to 43 percent).  Presidential elections generally have
higher turnouts than congressional elections.

     Voter turnout for Whites was 47 percent, compared with 
37 percent for African Americans and 19 percent for persons of 
Hispanic origin.  Asians voted at levels similar to Hispanics,
about 18 percent.

     Historically, the Census Bureau has calculated voter rates
for the total resident population.  The 1994 survey included
detailed questions about place of birth and citizenship, allowing
the Census Bureau to eliminate those non-citizens ineligible to
vote from the data tabulation.

     Estimating the turnout rate for citizens only who meet the
age requirements boosts the rate for the nation as a whole from
45 percent to 48 percent.  Similarly, among citizens 18 years old
and over, the turnout rate increased significantly for Hispanics 
(34 percent) and doubled for Asian and Pacific Islanders 
(41 percent).

     There was no overall difference in voter turnout rates
between men and women in the 1994 elections.  Likewise, there was
no difference in the turnout rates between men and women in the 
45- to 64-year-old age group (56 percent).  However, women 18 to
44 years old reported slightly higher turnout rates than did men 
(36 percent versus 34 percent).  Men 65 years old and over, on
the other hand, continued to report higher participation than
women in that age group (66 percent versus 57 percent).  The
difference, however, is less than it was in the 1966 election, 
the first congressional election year surveyed by the Census
Bureau, when the gap was 14 percentage points in favor of men.

     The voter turnout and accompanying registration data are
from the November 1994 Voting and Registration Supplement to the
Current Population Survey.  For the first time, these data will 
not be published in a printed report; instead, primary
dissemination will be via Internet.

     As in all surveys, the data in this release are subject to
sampling variability and other sources of error.  The bureau also
noted that people tend to overreport their participation in
elections.  Estimates provided by Election Data Services indicate
that 75 million persons voted either in congressional or 
gubernatorial elections in November 1994.

                               -X-

Editor's note:  EMBARGOED UNTIL:  JUNE 8, 1995 (THURSDAY) - media
representatives may access a copy of a statistical profile of the
voting age population, historical time-series, detailed socio-
economic, and state tables from the November 1994 Current
Population Survey on Internet.  The URL is:
HTTP://www.census.gov/org/pop.  Computer printouts may be
purchased from the Voting Statistics Staff in Population Division
on 301-457-2445; fax:  301-457-2481.