AP: Black voter turnout surpassed whites in 2012 presidential election

According to the Associated Press, a record-breaking black turnout surpassed the white turnout in the 2012 presidential election. I surmise the white turnout decreased due to unfavorable views of Mitt Romney (such as his "I don't care about the very poor" and anti-union comments). Many white voters stayed home for the presidential election rather than voting for either candidate. Given a history of voter disenfranchisement, black voters turned out in droves to keep President Barack Obama in the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election in which blacks strongly supported Barack Obama while many whites stayed home. 

Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press. 

Census data and exit polling show that whites and blacks will remain the two largest racial groups of eligible voters for the next decade. Last year's heavy black turnout came despite concerns about the effect of new voter-identification laws on minority voting, outweighed by the desire to re-elect the first black president.