Will more black men show up to polls this November? - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Will more black men show up to polls this November?

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By Ashton Pellom - bio | email

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ALBANY, GA (WALB) -

If you want to vote for President in November, you have to be registered by Tuesday.

There's one group that has a significantly lower voter turnout rate than other demographics, black men.

Right now, 63 percent of eligible black men in Georgia are registered to vote compared to 76 percent of black women and 75 percent of whites.

As the deadline nears in Georgia to register for the November election, more students at Albany State University, including black males, are registering to vote.

"It's my civic duty to vote. My ancestors fought hard for this and for me not to vote and to go out there and cast my ballot will be a slap in the face to them," said ASU student Phillip Tanks.

New data from the US census Bureau and Georgia Secretary of State shows black men voted at drastically lower rates than other groups.

In 2008's general election, 70,000 more black women voted than black men.

One ASU student believes he has the answer of why that may be.

"We (men) just go with the flow for the most part. We have that attitude where, "if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't." So we have to get out of that mindset as black males. We should be leading and not following and that's what we're doing," said ASU student Kevius Bass.

ASU's SGA President Clarence Washington says more young black men and other students are registering to vote because of issues that directly impact them.

"We have big issues coming up such as healthcare, Pell grant and all of those different things that affect students directly and they want to make sure their voice is heard," said Washington.

"Get out there and vote man. Let your voice be heard," said Tanks.

Tanks wants the public to heed his words and as he believes voting will make a difference in the future.

Click here to confirm your voter registration status.

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