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Previous evidence on the racial and ethnic effects of voter identification (ID) requirements is mixed; some works find voter IDs decrease Black and Latino turnout, others find no effect, and some conclude they may increase non-white turnout. Though these findings seem contradictory, this study argues all are plausible under the right conditions, specifically, the (lack of) racial/ethnic collective descriptive representation. Collective descriptive representation, or the extent to which an individual is represented by multiple members of their racial or ethnic group in office, may mediate the impact of voter ID requirements by providing substantive and symbolic benefits that outweigh costs of obtaining IDs, and by providing ID information and social pressure through mobilization efforts. As such, it is likely that the discriminatory effects of voter IDs differ based on the extent to which voters are descriptively represented. Using voter surveys (2006–2018; N = 59 K Black, 54 K Latino) and a representative sample of national voter roll data (2012; N = 343 K Black, 279 K Latino), this study shows the effect of collective representation is larger in states with voter identification requirements, likely as campaigns attempt to offset the perceived negative effects of these requirements. However, this effect is only uncovered for Black, not Latino, Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Climate Strike Movement (or Fridays for Future) is one of the most prominent transnational protest movements nowadays. In this paper, I examine the reactions of politicians to this movement to answer the research question: To what extent have German Members of Parliament (MPs) been responsive to local environmentalist street protests by focusing their attention on the Climate Strike Movement and Environmental Policy? To this end, I apply dictionary-based quantitative text-analytical tools to study German MPs' political communication through 292,949 Facebook posts and 43,644 parliamentary debates between September 2017 and February 2020. Focussing on the effect of the first global climate strike in March 2019 and leveraging varying protest frequencies between the electoral districts, I show that MPs are responsive to protest events in their districts. More local street protest events in an electoral district led to more attention to the Climate Strike Movement and Environmental Policies by political representatives associated with that district. Comparing different discursive arenas, I show how politicians adjust their communication according to the arena's audience, with protests affecting the political attention to environmental policies more in parliamentary debates than on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Latinos settle in new locations across the U.S., Republican members of Congress (MCs) are increasingly faced with adapting their behavior to incorporate this ideologically variant group. I argue that Republican MCs adapt to changing district demographics through vigilant assessment of the makeup (percent Latino) and preferences (white racial threat attitudes) of their reelection constituency. Using data from 1971 to 2015, I demonstrate that Republican MCs roll-call behavior is increasingly conservative until the district Latino population reaches 37%, where they begin to incorporate Latino interests and reduce their extreme conservative fervor. Between 30-35% Latinos, Republican MCs exhibit the lowest level of dyadic district congruence, illustrating that they are cross-pressured by conservative whites and liberal Latinos within this range. These findings suggest that Republican members of Congress are already adapting to the growing Latino population in their districts in an unexpected manner and will only incorporate Latinos when electorally necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political candidates use Spanish-language appeals in efforts to increase their support among Hispanic voters. We argue that candidates, Hispanic or not, can use Spanish to signal closeness to Hispanics and posit that the effectiveness of these appeals is conditional on proficiency. To test this, we run two experiments where participants listen to an audio clip of a hypothetical candidate's stump speech. We vary the ethnicity of the candidate (Anglo or Hispanic) and the language of the speech (English, non-native Spanish, and native-like Spanish). We find that Hispanic support for the Anglo and Hispanic candidates is higher in the native-like Spanish condition compared with the English-only condition. Relative to the English condition, non-native Spanish does not increase support for the Anglo candidate, but it decreases support for the Hispanic candidate. We find mixed effects for Anglo participants. Our results suggest that candidates can effectively appeal to Hispanic voters using Spanish-language messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased scholarship on sanctuary localities in the United States, there is little research analyzing the factors that lead to the adoption of sanctuary resolutions at the municipal level. Drawing on a new dataset of sanctuary and nonsanctuary cities, we theorize that policy adoption is driven primarily by two factors and their interaction: the size of the foreign-born population and local partisanship. We examine cities that passed sanctuary policies between 2000 and 2018 and compare these localities to nonsanctuaries. Using a novel time series cross-section dataset (TSCS) of all cities and designated places and a Cox proportional hazard model, we find that Democratic-leaning cities with high foreign-born populations predict sanctuary passage, whereas Republican-leaning cities with larger foreign-born populations are unlikely to adopt these policies. We thus find that while partisanship motivates sanctuary policy adoption, at the same time, the size of the foreign-born population also increases the likelihood of passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial classifications are a social construct with no basis in biology; yet, race is an omnipresent and powerful factor in U.S. politics, shaping electoral boundaries, disbursement of resources, and political alliances (Omi and Winant 1994, Haney López 1994). Race, then, is a malleable construct wielded by varying interests, with racial definitions changing in response to social and political battles. Some new immigrant groups initially classified as not white have been reclassified as white over time, thereby benefitting from associated legal, economic, and sociopolitical privileges. More recently, however, some Latinos have sought recognition as a distinct non-white racial group, in acknowledgment of the racialization of their identities over time. We seek to better understand who is most likely to support a racialized Latino identity, and the political consequences of this choice. Using data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-election Survey, we test whether individuals who believe that a Latino identity is a racial identity are also more likely to be interested in and engaged in politics. We also examine the extent to which support for a racialized Latino identity is associated with progressive attitudes on racial issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity is among of the most common explanations for political outcomes. Despite this, studies of politics often fail to clearly conceptualize or define identity, leading to tremendous variation in the use and application of the concept, much of which is at odds with fundamental tenets of research on the topic. Decades of research in psychology, sociology, and political psychology inform a family of related theories referred to as "Social Identity Theory" (SIT) which demonstrates that identity requires three conditions in order to affect attitudes and behavior: cognitive classification, psychological attachment to the group, and a social context that causes a group identity to become salient. In this paper, we build on these conditions to develop a typology to help identify when and for whom identity should be politically consequential. Using national election data from 2012, 2016 and 2020 we show that failing to differentiate between these concepts, particularly what we call Descriptive and Substantive identity, can lead to mistaken inferences about the behavior of identity groups in politics. Applying insights from SIT also promises to help advance an improved understanding of questions of race, representation, and intersectionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The Medicaid program provides health insurance coverage to a diverse set of demographics. We know little about how the policy community describes these populations (e.g., on Medicaid-related websites or in public opinion polls and policy writings) or whether and how these descriptions may affect perceptions of the program, its beneficiaries, and potential policy changes. Methods: To investigate this issue, we developed and fielded a nationally representative survey of 2,680 Americans that included an experiment for priming respondents by highlighting different combinations of target populations of the Medicaid program as found in the Medicaid policy discourse. Findings: Overall, we find that Americans view Medicaid and its beneficiaries rather favorably. However, there are marked differences based on partisanship and racial animosity. Emphasizing citizenship and residency requirements at times improved these perceptions. Conclusions: Racial perceptions and partisanship are important correlates in Americans' views about Medicaid and its beneficiaries. However, perceptions are not immutable. In general, the policy community should shift toward using more comprehensive descriptions of the Medicaid population that go beyond the focus on low income and that include citizenship and residency requirements. Future research should expand this work by studying descriptions in the broader public discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do undocumented immigrants matter as constituents for state legislators? In this study we examine legislator responsiveness to differing ethnicities and immigration statuses of immigrant constituents through a field experiment conducted in 2014 in 44 U.S. state legislatures. We advance a theory of citizen advantage, that citizens and particularly white citizens will reap greater representation from legislators, but that even undocumented immigrants can constitute a meaningful subconstituency that receives some, albeit less, responsiveness from legislators. Each legislator received a constituent request that was identical in content and varied the constituent's race/ethnic identity by using a first name and surname cue (Latinx or Eastern European) and immigration status (undocumented/citizen/control). We found that legislators respond less to undocumented constituents regardless of their ethnicity and are more responsive to both the Latinx and Eastern European-origin citizen treatments, with Republicans being more biased in their responsiveness to undocumented residents. Nuances within the data reveal that despite limited electoral incentive, some legislators are responsive to undocumented immigrants regardless of race or ethnicity; however, when immigration status is not cued, white residents receive greater responsiveness than Latinx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I look at how differences in committee participation help further explain the way Latinos are represented in Congress. I examine levels of participation in four committees in the House of Representatives for the 109th–112th Congresses. I find that Latino committee members participate at greater levels when high Latino saliency legislation is considered, but overall they do not engage in greater committee activity compared to non-Latino members. I also find that a higher percentage of Latinos in a district leads to greater levels of activity among committee members, especially when considering high Latino saliency bills. The results show that Latinos receive substantive representation in committees via district composition, but that descriptive representation is relative and not absolute. These findings may speak to the continued lack of Latino institutional power and the tradeoffs Latino members must consider when deciding where and when to invest legislative effort. Furthermore, the results underscore the importance of institutional context in assessing the link between descriptive and substantive representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores whether legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives talk about the issues important to Latinos on Twitter. Other work has emphasized the importance of descriptive representation for the substantive advancement of the interests of minority constituents. Building on that work, I argue that Latino legislators are more likely than their non-Latino peers to discuss issues important to the Latino community. In addition, given majoritarian constraints and work showing how minority legislators are marginalized in the legislative process, I argue that minority legislators – Latinos included – are more likely to post symbolic messages than their colleagues because they are not able to change the status quo and advance the interests of their co-ethnic/racial constituents. I explore these hypotheses using data collected from the Twitter profiles of members of the 115th U.S. House of Representatives. After accounting for other factors, I find that Latino legislators are more likely to post about immigration and Hurricane Maria during the 115th Congress. I also find that Latino legislators are more likely to post symbolic messages when communicating with the public. Both of these findings corroborate the notion of minority distinctiveness and add to our understanding of Latino representation, minority behavior, and legislative communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study related to the role of media in framing of protest events, issues, and race of protesters on support for police suppression to suppress protest activities.

Scholars of descriptive representation have paid growing attention to the issue of class. This article contributes to this line of research by examining the educational (mis)match of elected officials and the citizens they serve. Using data from an original paired elite-mass survey experiment, it investigates whether judgements of democratic quality are affected by education-based descriptive representation. The study reveals limited evidence in support of the idea that citizens and politicians value education-based descriptive representation in sociotropic terms. Instead, it provides strong evidence of affinity effects where democratic judgments are influenced by whether descriptive representation, or the lack thereof, favours citizens and politicians based on their own educational background. An important exception though are citizens without higher education, whose assessments of democratic quality are unaffected by education-based descriptive representation. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings for existing and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how Puerto Ricans in Florida make sense of the immigration debate, how they formulate their position on the debate, and how their immigration attitudes impact their political choices. I draw on 75 in-depth interviews I conducted in Orlando, Florida during the 2016 presidential election. I find most respondents express supportive attitudes toward undocumented immigration, yet, how they articulate their position is telling. Specifically, respondents deploy mainstream narratives of immigrant deservingness/undeservingness; and a coalescing of Latino group consciousness, and in some instances a sense of connected political futures, influence their views. I also find Puerto Ricans' immigration views provide insight into their 2016 vote for president. This study contributes to immigration, race, and Latino scholarship by uncovering nuance and complexity of Latinos' contemporary politics. In doing so, it captures the emergence of a different strand of Latinidad and Latino politics in the largest swing state of the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) faced the electoral dilemma? Despite their rejection of political institutions, the French municipal elections of 2020 led some of the participants to embrace conventional politics. Under which circumstances can a social movement lead to political participation and eventually obtain electoral success? Relying on quantitative and qualitative data, this article provides an explanation of the electoral participation of social movement activists and the different outcomes of local elections in Bordeaux, one of the major sites of Yellow Vests' mobilization in 2018–2019. The article contends that far from allowing marginalized groups to enter the political arena, these elections seem to confirm the "iron law of oligarchy". Two lists of candidates both claiming to be part of the Yellow Vests movement competed with each other. While "Bordeaux Democracy" rejected partisan support failed to stand, "Bordeaux in Struggle" could rely on organizational support and was able to maintain itself and achieved unexpected electoral success with three local councillors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This first special issue on the Yellow Vests movement (YVM) published in English has three objectives. First, we advocate that this puzzling movement proved to be an insightful research field for scholars to make a plea for mixed methods. By so doing, we bridge the usual gaps between positivist and constructivist approaches. Second, after four years of research, this publication is also a first milestone to provide empirical data and analysis of the movement, to better understand its evolution, significance and effects on French society. By combining case studies and national-based comparison, regional face-to-face surveys, national online surveys and in-person surveys, the nine articles provide a clearer and more precise picture of the movement's composition and its evolution over the months. In addition to a detailed description of the social and political components of the movement, several articles propose to establish bridges between the values and opinions of the Gilets Jaunes or Yellow Vests, the cultural practices of the social groups from which they come, and the modalities of mobilization and form of politicization, inscribed in space and in time. In this way, they provide the debate with valuable keys to understanding the dynamics of the movement. Third, this special issue consequently further analyses how the YVM challenges contemporary social movements studies, the understanding of uprisings and assumptions about contentious politics. The first article introduces the major analytical issues and mixed-method approaches of the 9 articles and their contributions as whole to scholarship on the study of the YVM and social movements in France and from a comparative perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summer 2020 saw widespread protests under the banner Black Lives Matter. Coupled with the global pandemic that kept America's children in the predominant care of their parents, we argue that the latter half of 2020 offers a unique moment to consider whites' race-focused parenting practices. We use Google Trends data and posts on public parenting Facebook pages to show that the remarkable levels of protest activity in summer 2020 served as a focusing event that not only directed Americans' attention to racial concepts but connected those concepts to parenting. Using a national survey of non-Hispanic white parents with white school-age children, we show that most white parents spoke with their children about race during this period and nearly three-quarters took actions to increase racial diversity in their children's environment or introduce them to racial politics. But the data also show parenting practices to be rife with uncertainty and deep partisan, gender, and socioeconomic divisions. Drawing upon our findings, we call for a renewed focus on political socialization that considers how parenting choices are shaped by political events—including Black Lives Matter—and the possible long-term consequences of racial parenting practices on politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: While the "machismo" media narrative explaining Donald Trump's electoral support among Latinxs has some intuitive appeal, the relative dearth of scholarship on the influence of sexism on Latinx political attitudes precludes critical evaluation of this claim. Objective: This study aims to determine whether Latinxs exhibit more sexist attitudes, compared to other racial/ethnic groups and whether sexism has a differential impact on Latinx electoral support for Trump, compared to non‐Latinx counterparts. Methods: We use the correlational analysis of 2016 and 2020 American National Election Study (ANES). The Online Appendix replicates these analyses with the 2012 ANES and 2018, 2019, and 2020 CCES. Results: While Latinxs do express higher levels of sexism than other Americans, Latinx sexists are no more likely to vote for Donald Trump, compared to sexists of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, after controlling for a host of relevant covariates. Conclusion: The machismo media narrative is at best sloppy journalism and at worst a misleading reproduction of harmful stereotypes against Latinxs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The configuration of protests as hybrid media events not only enables them to reach wider audiences but also favors the transformation of those audiences into active publics. In this increasingly common scenario, our study proposes a set of indicators to scrutinize how the public reacts during such hybrid media events, and to test such reactions in light of the mass protests that took place in Spain to mark the 2019 International Women's Day (IWD). We analyze a nationally representative survey sample collected through daily tracking over 20 days before and after the 2019 IWD. Findings confirm the ability of hybrid media protests to broaden their audience, generate interest, spark conversations on gender inequality, and contribute to opinion conformation. They also reveal that some of these reactions were conditioned by prior exposure to similar events and by gender. Our study contributes to a recent line of research testing the influence of protests on the public and shows the possibilities of using rolling cross-sectional designs to capture those effects. The study also contributes to the discussion on the political significance of these mass protests as hybrid media events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is abundant anecdotal evidence that nondemocratic regimes are harnessing new digital technologies known as social media bots to facilitate policy goals. However, few previous attempts have been made to systematically analyze the use of bots that are aimed at a domestic audience in autocratic regimes. We develop two alternative theoretical frameworks for predicting the use of pro-regime bots: one which focuses on bot deployment in response to offline protest and the other in response to online protest. We then test the empirical implications of these frameworks with an original collection of Twitter data generated by Russian pro-government bots. We find that the online opposition activities produce stronger reactions from bots than offline protests. Our results provide a lower bound on the effects of bots on the Russian Twittersphere and highlight the importance of bot detection for the study of political communication on social media in nondemocratic regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigration enforcement affects political attitudes and trust even among individuals and communities not directly targeted for deportation. Literature from across the social sciences finds that restrictive local immigration policy has chilling spillover effects on citizen Latino political attitudes, trust, and interactions with state institutions – but few studies have extended this framework to formal political behaviour. In this article, I contribute to the literature on spillover effects of immigration enforcement policies with a new measure of mobilisation and a credible identification strategy. Specifically, this study identifies the effects of restriction on Latino voter registration by leveraging the county-level selection process for the 287(g) Program in North Carolina and Florida. Contrary to expectations, I find little convincing evidence that acceptance into the 287(g) Program decreased Latino voter registration. These null results are consistent across different 287(g) Program types and modelling strategies that relax temporal assumptions about policy effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines studies indicating the political representation of Muslim Americans, as well as legislators' references to Muslim Americans on social media.

Objective: This paper seeks to understand the impact of sustained protests for racial justice on attitudes toward racial minorities, the police, and policies that would benefit racial minorities. Methods: Using a large, nationally representative survey collected before and after the death of George Floyd and the protest movement that followed it, I employ a propensity score matching to identify the causal impact of these protests on perceptions of discrimination against blacks, favorability of the police, racial prejudice, and support for reparations for slavery. I also identify heterogeneous effects in rural America to identify the limits of these attitude shifts. Results: I find evidence that George Floyd's death caused an increased perception of discrimination against blacks, decreased favorability of the police, decreased racial prejudice, and increased support for reparations. I also find muted and heterogeneous effects in rural America. Conclusion: These findings speak to the power of social protest to shift attitudes and policy preferences and to the persistent divide between urban and rural Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]