Four Decades of the None Vote

• Published in: The Humanist (Buffalo, N.Y.) Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 34 - 35
• Main Author: Navarro-Rivera, Juhem
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, D.C American Humanist Association 01.01.2020
• Subjects: American history; Americans; Bush, George; Bush, George W; Candidates; Carter, Jimmy; Clinton, Bill; Clinton, Hillary Rodham; Conservatism; Dole, Robert; Dukakis, Michael S; Elections; Gore, Albert Jr; Kerry, John F; McCain, John; McMullin, Evan; Mondale, Walter F; Nader, Ralph; Obama, Barack; Perot, H Ross; Political aspects; Political parties; President of the United States; Presidential elections; Reagan, Ronald; Reagan, Ronald Wilson; Romney, W Mitt; Third party; Trump, Donald J; Vice Presidents; New Mexico; United States > US; Texas; Massachusetts; Illinois; Kansas; California; Arkansas; Arizona
• ISSN: 0018-7399; 2163-3576

Since 1980, the year Ronald Reagan was elected, there have been ten presidential elections. According to exit poll data in each of those elections, the majority of nones--people with no religious affiliation--have voted for the Democratic Party candidate. This preference has increased substantially in recent years; the 1980, 1984, and 1988 elections are the most "competitive" in terms of the margin of victory the Democratic candidates achieved among the nones. Elections in the 1990s saw support for Republicans hit its lowest points, with nonreligious voters abandoning GOP candidates in large numbers. In the current century. Democrats have reached their highest level of support from the nones so far. The 1990s were stable for Democratic candidates but can be considered the lowest point for Republican candidates in terms of support from the nones.