The Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Outreach has published a report that analyzes various aspects of the 2004 presidential election, including voter turnout.
According to exit polling, more than 4.6 million self-identified GLBT voters cast ballots in the presidential race. Exit polling showed that between 77-81 percent of these people voted for the Kerry-Edwards ticket, delivering more than 3.5 million votes for the Democrats and more than 6 percent of the Kerry-Edwards total. The Kerry-Edwards ticket received roughly 400,000 more GLBT votes than the Gore-Lieberman ticket did in 2000. The analysis also revealed that the GLBT community is now second only to the African-American community ( 88 percent ) in Democratic base vote loyalty.
One piece of slightly promising news is that Democrats actually went in and took 3-5 percent of the GLBT votes Bush won in 2000. Somewhere between 20-23 percent of GLBT voters cast a ballot for Bush, a figure that represents a decline from 2000, when Bush captured 25 percent of the GLBT vote.
The report also shows that the GLBT community contributed more than $5 million to the DNC, $1.8 million of which was raised at a New York dinner with Senator Kerry. The program also successfully advocated for the hiring of GLBT coordinated campaign staff in 15 of the 21 original battleground states. The program had GLBT steering committees in all 21 of the battleground states; the boards were comprised of elected officials, party leaders, and grassroots activists.
The report also included overlooked facts. Among them is that 60 percent of general voters believe that gay families deserve legal recognition, rights, and benefits.
See www.isebrand.com/ 12_20%20Post%20Election%20Analysis1.pdf