Obama Sounds Alarm Over Black Voter Turnout

The Hill reports:

President Obama is sounding the alarm about low turnout among black voters in key battleground states, arguing it could sink Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the White House and put his legacy in jeopardy.

“I’m going to be honest with you right now. The Latino vote is up. The overall vote is up. But the African-American vote, right now, is not as solid as it needs to be,” Obama said in an interview that aired Wednesday on the “Tom Joyner Morning Show.”

The president’s comments amplify concerns from top Democrats about low black turnout in early voting, something they fear could cause a problem for Clinton, who is clinging to a narrow lead over Republican Donald Trump.

African-American turnout is down from four years ago in both North Carolina and Florida. The Clinton campaign is plotting a final-week blitz in both states, including two visits to each state by Obama. Black returns in early voting are also down in Ohio, where Obama rallied Democrats on Tuesday.

“If you really care about my presidency and what we’ve accomplished, then you are going to go and vote,” he added, urging African-Americans to tell their friends and relatives that the Obamas “personally asked you to vote.”