Study: Racial Resentment Tied to Voter I.D. Support in Both Democrats and Republicans
A recently published study indicates that people who support voter I.D. laws “harbor negative sentiments towards African Americans.”
Researchers at the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication found that the majority of conservatives were in favor of voter I.D. laws regardless of their level of racial resentment. The researchers determined the level of racial bias by asking participants a series of questions.
But here’s the surprise: Democrats who rated higher on the racial resentment meter also supported voter I.D. laws:
Here, CPC researchers found an interesting pattern in the data: it is Democrats and liberals whose opinions on voter ID laws are most likely to depend on their racial attitudes. Republicans and conservatives overwhelmingly support voter ID laws regardless of how much “racial resentment” they express. In contrast, Democrats and liberals with the highest “racial resentment” express much more support for voter ID laws than those with the least resentment.
Overall, Republicans harbor more racial resentment than any other group, but they support voter I.D. across the board:
The survey reveals strong partisan and ideological divisions on racial resentment (see Figure 2). Republicans and conservatives have the highest “racial resentment” scores, and Democrats and liberals have the lowest; Independents and moderates are in the middle. In addition, Democrats and liberals are least supportive of voter ID laws, whereas Republicans and conservatives are most supportive. The link between “racial resentment” and support for such laws persists even after controlling for the effects of partisanship, ideology, and a range of demographic variables.
Brewer, the center’s associate director for research, said, “These findings suggest that Americans’ attitudes about race play an important role in driving their views on voter ID laws.”
Read the entire report here.
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