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The Mobilizing Effect of Majority–Minority Districts on Latino Turnout

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2004

MATT A. BARRETO ,
GARY M. SEGURA  and
NATHAN D. WOODS
MATT A. BARRETO
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
GARY M. SEGURA
Affiliation:
University of Iowa
NATHAN D. WOODS
Affiliation:
Welch Consulting
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Abstract

We inquire whether residence in majority–minority districts raises or lowers turnout among Latinos. We argue that the logic suggesting that majority–minority districts suppress turnout is flawed and hypothesize that the net effect is empowering. Further, we suggest that residing in multiple overlapping majority–minority districts—for state assemblies, senates, and the U.S. House—further enhances turnout. We test our hypotheses using individual-level turnout data for voters in five Southern California counties. Examining three general elections from 1996 to 2000, we demonstrate that residing in a majority-Latino district ultimately has a positive effect on the propensity of Latino voters to turn out, an effect that increases with the number of Latino districts in which the voter resides and is consistent across the individual offices in which a voter might be descriptively represented. In contrast, the probability that non-Hispanic voters turn out decreases as they are subject to increasing layers of majority-Latino districting.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 98 , Issue 1 , February 2004 , pp. 65 - 75
Copyright
© 2004 by the American Political Science Association

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