AFL-CIO registers more than 450,000 new voters from union households

Source: The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The AFL-CIO says it has registered more than 450,000 new voters from union households over the past 18 months, part of an ambitious push to swell the ranks of Democratic-leaning voters and help President Barack Obama win reelection.

The tally includes about 68,000 new voters in Ohio — one of the most contested battleground states this year — and thousands of other union-friendly voters in swing states like Colorado and Nevada.
“That’s an amazing number,” said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University. “In an era of declining union membership, one wouldn’t think there would be many new targets out there.”

Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a little more than 200,000 votes in Ohio in 2008 out of about 5 million votes cast in the state.

Voters from union households have traditionally favored Democratic candidates. That trend is expected to continue this year in light of high-profile efforts by Republican leaders to weaken collective bargaining rights in Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and other states.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/afl-cio-registers-more-than-450000-new-voters-from-union-households/2012/10/04/148e9912-0e4c-11e2-ba6c-07bd866eb71a_story.html