Language Access and Initiative Outcomes: Did the Voting Rights Act Reduce Support for Bilingual Education?

Abstract:     
When trying to incorporate immigrants, policymakers risk provoking a backlash if they use foreign languages. We investigate this potential tradeoff by studying the impact of Spanish-language election materials provided under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. Focusing initially on a California initiative on bilingual education, this paper tests how Spanish-language materials influenced election outcomes in both predominantly Latino precincts and predominantly non-Hispanic white precincts. Empirically, it first exploits the legal thresholds for language assistance as well as propensity score matching to identify highly similar precincts that did or did not provide materials in Spanish. The analysis finds that heavily Latino precincts with Spanish-language materials had reduced support for ending bilingual education, and had higher turnout if they were also heavily immigrant. Yet it finds no backlash among non-Hispanic white precincts. These findings gain additional support from multilevel regression discontinuity analyses of both the California ballot initiative and 2004 voter turnout among Latinos nationwide.

Keywords: Voting Rights Act, bilingual education, matching, threat

JEL Classifications: H72, D72, J61

Working Paper Series