Which Brooklyn Neighborhoods Have the Lowest Voter Turnout?
Latino Neighborhoods
Though one of the bigger stories that emerged after the last presidential election was about the power of the Latino electorate, some of the lowest voter turnout in Brooklyn was in predominately Latino neighborhoods; parts of Bushwick showed just 7-9 percent of the adult citizens voted in the mayoral election; in Sunset Park, on either side of Fifth Avenue, it was 6-10 percent; in the significantly Latino parts of South and East Williamsburg, it was 12-14 percent. As WNYC tried to estimate the citizen population of these areas and not just the total population, thus eliminating non-documented residents who can’t vote by law, the low numbers can’t be explained that way. There are other theories as to what can keep Latinos away from the poll: it might have been the effect of the recession on them, which often forces people to move and thus makes voting a challenge; and/or it could be the lack of a voting traditions among recent immigrants. But, nationally, there also seems to be stronger voting disillusionment among Latinos than other ethnic groups, especially in non-presidential races.