Barriers to Voting
(and Disproportionate
Impact on Minorities)
Political Science 61 /
Chicano/Latino Studies 64
November 8, 2007
Review—Vote, 2004 Presidential
Election, By Race/Ethnicity
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
N-H White
Black
API
API Citizen
Latino
Latino
Citizen
Source: Census Bureau, except Muslim data (poll)
Muslim
American
Why the Gap?
1.
2.
Individual characteristics (composition)
– Partial Review from Tuesday
Institutional barriers
Participation Differences at the
Individual Level – Composition

Demographics




Non-U.S. citizenship


Naturalized citizens participate at lower rates than U.S.born
Political socialization/political learning


Age
Education
Income
Decline in civics education
Decline in social networks / “Bowling Alone”
State Structures that Limit
Participation

National




First-past-the-post elections / Single member districts
Electoral college
Partisan districting/Non-competitive elections
State/Local






Voter registration
Timing of elections
Multiplicity of elections
Direct democracy institutions (in some states)
Ballot design
Decentralization of authority to (untrained) local officials
The Palm Beach Butterfly
Ballot
Emerging Institutional Barriers
May Shape 2008 and Beyond

New voting technologies and their
implementation






Complexity
Failures of technology
Malfeasance
Need for poll worker training
Identification requirements
Advance voting and the reduction of polling
places
In Current Debate – Voter
ID Requirements

Advocates contend



Voter fraud common
Non-citizens voting
IDs are prevalent, so
no cost to remedy a
potentially serious
problem

Opponents’ concerns




Little (no) evidence of voting fraud,
so a remedy in search of a problem
Not having IDs disproportionately
occurs among elderly, urban
populations, and minorities
Voting clerks not trained to
evaluate IDs, risk of
disenfranchisement over
documents
Request for ID potentially
intimidating to new voters and can
be implemented in intimidating
manner
Race/Ethnic Communities
Can Overcome these Barriers

Barriers can be overcome




Chicken and egg



Leadership
Organization
Mass mobilization
Barriers more likely to appear in unorganized
communities
… issues can create incentive to mobilization
All barriers more likely to effect new participants
and those who do not participate regularly
Why do we not See More
Minority Mobilization?


Emphasis on minority voter registration
Fewer resources for get-out-the-vote


People respond to being asked



It’s more expensive
But candidates aren’t likely to ask in areas with
few voters
Candidates generally focus on regular voters
Many big states haven’t had competitive
elections for many years
Congressional Incentive:
1982 Amendments to VRA

Mandate of “majority-minority” districts


Supreme Court has questioned the constitutionality
of race-conscious districting



Immediate consequence: surge in Black and Latino
officeholders
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
Bush v. Vera (1996)
Newly composed court will quickly be asked to
assess constitutionality of majority-minority districts

Impact particularly great for geographically dispersed
minorities: African Americans and Asian Americans
Minority Candidates also an
Incentive for Minority Voters



Remember discussion of 2006 races in last
lecture
Most elected from co-racial/co-ethnic
districts
But, majority-minority districts make more
districts racially homogeneous

May act as disincentive to minority participation
Minority Candidates and
White Voters

Minority candidates less likely to receive support
from white voters (again remember Tuesday’s
lecture)

Racial messages



Example – Republican National Committee ad targeting Harold
Ford (D) in 2006 Tennessee Senate Race
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=f503c8d9dc514acfb9e79
bc6726b5b7fece48071
Not simply an issue for the Democrats


Alan Keyes – 2004 Republican Senate nominee, Illinois
Roy Barrera, Jr. – 1986 Texas Attorney General nominee
Race/Ethnicity in Campaigns
with no Minority Candidates


Subtle messages target segments of the electorate
Candidates careful to distance themselves from
explicitly racial messages

Example—the 1988 Willie Horton ad (Presidential race
between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis)
[http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/election/index.php?nav_action=election&nav_subacti
on=overview&campaign_id=174]

Racial messages can be positive

Example—George W. Bush and Spanish-language
advertising in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses
In Sum




Individual (compositional) effects explain much of
the gap between majority and minority
participation
These gaps are exacerbated, however, by state
structures make voting difficult, arguably not for
good reasons (to prevent fraud)
Minority candidates – encouraged by the 1982 VRA
Amendments – can encourage minority
participation
But, minority candidates can disconnect white
voters from their traditional party allegiances
Question for Next Time
In 2001 and 2005, Jim Hahn faced
Antonio Villaraigosa in the runoff for
Los Angeles’ mayoralty. Each won one
election.
What changed between 2001 and
2005?