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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsStates with higher black turnout are more likely to restrict voting
BY KEITH BENTELE AND ERIN O'BRIEN
December 17 at 2:59 pm
This is a guest post by University of Massachusetts at Boston sociologist Keith Bentele and political scientist Erin OBrien.
In most elections, the intricacies of voting procedures rarely warrant headlines or interest most Americans. But in 2012, voter identification laws took center stage. In fact, in the five years preceding the 2012 election, almost half of states enacted some form of legislation restricting voter access such as requiring photo identification or proof of citizenship to vote, more stringently regulating voter registration drives, shortening early voting periods, repealing same-day voter registration, or further restricting voting by felons.
These are the legislative realities. But the real intent of this legislation remains highly contested. On the left, voter identification laws are viewed as thinly veiled attempts by Republicans to depress turnout among Democratic-leaning constituencies, such as minorities, new immigrants, the elderly, disabled, and young. On the right, these laws are viewed as a bulwark against electoral fraud and a means of preserving electoral legitimacy. In a new article, we examined the dominant explanations (and accusations) advanced by both the right and left, as well as the factors political scientists know are important for understanding state legislative activity. We began with no assumptions about the veracity of any claim. What we found was that restrictions on voting derived from both race and class. The more that minorities and lower-income individuals in a state voted, the more likely such restrictions were to be proposed. Where minorities turned out at the polls at higher rates the legislation was more likely enacted.
More specifically, restrictive proposals were more likely to be introduced in states with larger African-American and non-citizen populations and with higher minority turnout in the previous presidential election. These proposals were also more likely to be introduced in states where both minority and low-income turnout had increased in recent elections. A similar picture emerged for the actual passage of these proposals. States in which minority turnout had increased since the previous presidential election were more likely to pass restrictive legislation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2013/12/17/states-with-higher-black-turnout-are-more-likely-to-restrict-voting/
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States with higher black turnout are more likely to restrict voting (Original Post)
MrScorpio
Dec 2013
OP
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)1. kick for truth
Quantess
(27,630 posts)2. Gee, really?
Who could have guessed that?
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)3. I think voting rights should be a federal law. nm
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)4. California had one?!
With a Dem Assembly, Senate AND Governor?!
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)5. The full study is in this month's issue of DUH! magazine.
On newsstands now.
Gothmog
(144,005 posts)6. In Texas, the GOP is afraid that the Hispanic population will start voting
Texas would be a blue state if Hispanic voters in Texas voted in the same proportions as Hispanic voters in California. The Texas voter id law is designed to make it harder for Hispanics and other minorities to vote