This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
  4. Forthcoming Articles
  5. The Franchise, Policing, and Race: Evidence from Arrests Data and the Voting Rights Act

American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics

ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)

The Franchise, Policing, and Race: Evidence from Arrests Data and the Voting Rights Act

  • Giovanni Facchini
  • Brian Knight
  • Cecilia Testa
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (Forthcoming)

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the franchise and policing. We find that, following the Voting Rights Act of 1965, black arrest rates in counties that both had more newly enfranchised Blacks and were covered by the legislation fell, compared to similar Southern counties that were not covered. We document no corresponding patterns for white arrests. Our results are driven by arrests by sheriffs, who are always elected, and by less serious offenses. These results indicate that voting rights, when combined with electoral accountability, leads to improved treatment of minority groups by police.

Downloads