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Disparate racial impacts of Shelby County v. Holder on voter turnout

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  • Billings, Stephen B.
  • Braun, Noah
  • Jones, Daniel B.
  • Shi, Ying

Abstract

In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court struck down a core provision of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) that enabled federal electoral oversight in select jurisdictions. We study whether this decision disproportionately impacted ballot access for Black and Hispanic registered voters. We use a rich dataset on voter behavior for the universe of registered voters combined with Census block-level sociodemographic attributes to document a decrease in turnout for Black, relative to white, individuals. We observe suggestive but less robust evidence of decreases in Hispanic turnout. These effects are concentrated in counties with larger Black and Hispanic populations, consistent with strategic targeting of voter suppression.

Suggested Citation

  • Billings, Stephen B. & Braun, Noah & Jones, Daniel B. & Shi, Ying, 2024. "Disparate racial impacts of Shelby County v. Holder on voter turnout," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:230:y:2024:i:c:s0047272723002293
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.105047
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abhay P. Aneja & Carlos F. Avenancio-León, 2019. "Disenfranchisement and Economic Inequality: Downstream Effects of Shelby County v. Holder," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 161-165, May.
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    4. Sophie Schuit & Jon C. Rogowski, 2017. "Race, Representation, and the Voting Rights Act," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(3), pages 513-526, July.
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    9. Jones, Daniel & Shi, Ying, 2022. "Reducing Racial Inequality in Access to the Ballot Reduces Racial Inequality in Children's Later-Life Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 15095, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Keywords

    Voting Rights Act; Political participation;

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