The difference between people and voters
Because of years of high levels of immigration, Boston has a non-white majority since sometime in the late 1990′s. Yet most of the city’s politics is dominated by whites. If you read the Boston Globe’s coverage, you might well come away with the impression that the white politicians are using dirty tricks to supress non-white representation. Perhaps they do, but there is a more simple, mathematical explanation: THE MAJORITY OF VOTERS ARE STILL STILL WHITE!
Your bewildered look is one shared by Boston Globe reporters: How can the majority of voters be white, when the majority of people is non white? It does not compute. Sprlktr nhiuje ia shub klrqrl.
Here’s how: Many of the immigrants aren’t citizens and can’t vote.
For a more vivid example of this phenomena, check out Compton, California, of “Compton, Long Beach, Inglewooood” fame.
First check out the Census data for Compton from 2000.
40% black, 57% Latino (Mexican, really).
Now take a look at the city’s elected officials.
Here’s a table I originally put together for Amerika.nu. It shows the difference between people and voters on a national level:
| Voters | People | |
| White | 79% | 69% |
| Black | 11% | 12% |
| Hispanics | 6% | 13% |
| Asian | 2% | 4% |
