Crime Policy Attitudes and Voter Preference in the 2020 Election: The Influence of Racial Empathy

• In Event: Attitudes About Race, Ethnicity, and Criminal Justice Policy

Abstract

While a plethora of research exists on public attitudes toward crime policy, fewer criminological studies examine the ways that these policy attitudes translate to voting behavior. Research on policy attitudes has also indicated that racial sentiment helps to shape public opinion on crime policy – do racial attitudes also influence voting behavior? Using nationally representative data from the 2020 U.S. presidential election, this study examines the connection between three crime policy attitudes – support for increasing crime spending, the death penalty, and felon disenfranchisement – and voter preference, integrating racial empathy as a potential mediator. Results indicate that none of the policy attitudes were directly associated with respondents’ likelihood of voting in the 2020 election. However, there is some evidence that supporters of the death penalty and voter disenfranchisement were more likely to vote if they have low racial empathy. As for candidate preference, those who support crime spending and felon disenfranchisement were more likely to vote for Donald Trump for president. Once again, those who are pro-death penalty and anti-felon voting were more likely to vote for Trump if they have low racial empathy. Implications for policy and research are discussed.

Author

• Andrew J. Baranauskas, SUNY Brockport