Gender Gap & Other Voter Demographics

I just saw this interesting statistic from a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll (taken between July 30th and August 19th of 9,678 randomly selected registered voters, with a very small 1 point margin of error). The poll showed there is a definite gender gap in the 2012 election -- at least so far. It showed that 50% of men prefer Willard Romney and 42% prefer President Obama. The numbers among women are the flip side of that -- with 50% preferring President Obama and 42% preferring Willard Romney.

On the surface that may sound like a 50-50 split among all voters, but it's not. Remember, there are more women than men in the United States, and a higher percentage of women actually go to the polls and vote. When you consider both of those facts, then you can see that President Obama has a statistically significant edge in the election so far. According to this graph over at the site of The Omnipotent Poobah (compiled by U.S. Census Bureau Project Vote), in 2008 about 65.7% of women voted and 61.5% of men voted.

Here are some of the other voting demographics from the 2008 election. It shows the percentage of each group that actually voted in that election:

Whites...............66.1%
Blacks...............64.7%
Hispanics...............49.9%
Asians...............47.6%

18 to 24...............48.5%
25 to 34...............57.0%
35 to 44...............62.8%
45 to 54...............67.4%
55 to 64...............71.5%
65 to 74...............72.4%
Over 75...............67.8%

Less than high school grad...............50.5%
High school grad or GED...............64.1%
Associates or some college...............75.3%
B.S. or B.A. degree...............81.2%
Advanced degree...............85.5%

Never married...............53.5%
Divorced...............59.0%
Widowed...............61.6%
Married...............69.9%

Less than $20,000...............51.9%
$20,000 to $29,999...............56.3%
$30,000 to $39,999...............62.2%
$40,000 to $49,999...............64.7%
$50,000 to $74,999...............70.9%
$75,000 to $99,999...............76.4%
$10,000 and over...............91.8%

Unemployed...............54.7%
Employed...............65.9%

STATES WITH HIGHEST VOTING PERCENTAGE
Minnesota...............75.0%
New Hampshire...............71.2%
Maine...............71.2%
Wisconsin...............71.2%
Louisiana...............70.3%
Iowa...............70.2%
Mississippi...............69.7%
Virginia...............68.7%
Colorado...............68.4%
Maryland...............68.3%

STATES WITH LOWEST VOTING PERCENTAGE
Hawaii...............51.8%
Utah...............53.1%
West Virginia...............53.4%
Arkansas...............53.8%
Tennessee...............55.5%
Texas...............56.1%
Oklahoma...............58.7%
New York...............58.8%
Arizona...............59.9%
Nevada...............59.9%