Arizona ranks among states with lowest political engagement for African-Americans
Feb 18, 2016, 7:30 AM | Updated: 8:00 am
PHOENIX — In the months leading up to the presidential election in November, Arizona was found to rank among states with the lowest African-American political engagement, according to WalletHub.
Arizona ranked No. 42 in the nation for political engagement among blacks, ranking only ahead of Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Jill Gonzalez with WalletHub said Arizona also ranked No. 45 in the nation for the worst African-American voter turnout during the 2012 presidential election, with less than 60 percent registered.
“I think to really increase, obviously, first registration and then turn out, would be steps in the right direction,” she said.
Gonzalez said other states, such as Wisconsin, Mississippi and North Carolina, had voting percentages for African-Americans reaching into the low 80s.
Arizona also tied for No. 23, with Alaska, Colorado, Idaho and Kansas, for the lowest percentage of African-American legislative representatives per black population.
On the other hand, the Valley tied for first with California, Colorado, Florida and Idaho for the highest percentage of black delegates at national conventions.