When Prop 8 passed, the immediate analysis was that Prop 8 passed because Obama was on the ballot and there were all these new Black voters and they voted for it. This is untrue. In fact, the new voters voted 62% against Prop 8, but the smear of Black voters lived on.
The real difference was generational. Older voters voted for Prop 8 and older voters vote more reliably. In addition, Oregon gay rights activists who were experienced in fighting anti-gay ballot measures reported the No on 8 campaign relied far too heavily on TV over field
Most damningly, they did not focus on outreach to people of color organizations, churches, and newspapers until the last weeks of the campaign. This is a failure of outreach, another result of not valuing field enough. But it's easier to say Black people are homophobic
