Poll: Voters’ shifts give problem to Democrats
Question is: Can migrant groups be talked into going to polls?
By George Gallup, Director, American Institute of Public Opinion
Besides the normal worries of a campaign year the Democrats will have an added worry in the November presidential election because of wartime migration of workers.
Roughly one-fourth of all the people who would normally be in the voting population – or 13 million – now live in election districts where they have never voted before. The majority of them are Democrats.
The problem which faces the Democratic Party is to induce these people to tale the trouble to register, where necessary, or to satisfy other requirements for voting in districts where they are newcomers.
Majority voted
The size of this group and its importance to the Democratic Party is revealed in a survey by the Institute. The study first ascertained the total number in the group by asking the following question:
Interviewing Date 12/17-22/43 Survey #308-K Question #9aHave you ever voted in the election district where you now live?
| Yes | 75% |
| No | 25% |
Each voter in the two groups was then asked what party he would prefer to see win the presidential election this year. The results indicated that the Democratic Party will probably exert a great deal of effort to get the migrant group to the polls because the proportion of persons with Democratic leanings in that group is far higher than in the other group.
Sentiment tested
The party sentiment of those who have never voted before in the district where they now live follows:
| Democratic | 61% |
| Republican | 39% |
The party sentiment of those who have voted before in the district where they now live follows:
| Democratic | 49% |
| Republican | 51% |
The voter turnout in this group might make the difference between victory and defeat for the Democrats in a close election.
Another problem
To this headache must also be added the problem of the soldier vote. Ever since President Roosevelt took office in 1933, the Democrats have held an advantage over the Republicans among voters in the younger age levels – 21-29 years old.
With the Armed Forces largely made up of men from that and younger age brackets, the Democrats will be at a disadvantage in the election if only s small number of soldiers vote.