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Could Disputes Over the 2020 U.S. Election be Tied to Race?
WEDNESDAY, OCT 12, 2022
A Social Explorer analysis used in a New York Times investigation may be evidence. The analysis shows that the 139 Republican lawmakers who voted against the certification of the 2020 election results – even after a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol building by right-wing extremists – represented congressional districts with a higher percentage of white people, lower household incomes, and less education.
The analysis also found that eight of the 10 Republicans from districts with the sharpest declines in white population voted against affirming President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Donald Trump. The lawmakers who refused to sign off on a traditionally pro forma confirmation of the election results that confirmed Trump’s defeat represent congressional districts where the white population is declining more rapidly than other racial or ethnic groups.
“The best predictor of Republicans hating Democrats is the level of racial resentment,” Lilliana Mason, a Johns Hopkins University expert, told the New York Times.
The Social Explorer analysis was based on decennial Census data from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 headcounts, as well as 2016-19 American Community Survey (ACS) results. The ACS is an annual compilation of economic, social, demographic, housing, health, and other information collected annually from roughly 3.5 million American households.
“Our analysis highlights the relevance of Census data in general and Social Explorer tools in particular to shed light on major issues facing our country,” said Andrew Beveridge, president and co-founder of Social Explorer. “Accurate data — and the tools to interpret it — are essential if our country is to return to a place that honors a common set of facts.”
Social Explorer provides users with intuitive, easy-to-use maps and tables to explore and compare decennial census data from 1970 to 2020 geographies, as well as American Community Survey results. The data makes it easy to track demographic changes in the United States over the last generation. Data is available on Census tract, county, state and national level.
