Race, Ethnicity, and Direct Democracy: What Can Be Learned About the Policy Positions of Different Racial/Ethnic Groups from How They Voted on Various Initiatives and Referendums?

Abstract

Most research has focused on white voters with little research examining the voter choice of minorities. This research attempts to better understand the vote choice of whites and minorities not on candidates but on issues. The availability of voting data at block group level during the 1990s allows for a closer inspection of how various groups voted on a variety of policy initiatives in California. This research might also shed light on whether the same factors that have been found to influence voters in numerous voting studies affect voters across racial lines. The focus is not on whether race matters, per se, but on whether there are variations not only in how different groups vote but whether the same factors (partisanship, socio-economic status, education, etc.) affect how they vote (whether directly or indirectly).

Keywords: Direct Democracy, Minorities