Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Patrick Donnay
Abstract
Racial identity and perception thereof are consistent themes throughout the history of the United States. Countless studies have attempted to measure the impact of this factor on everyday life, with present research finding the lives of non-white individuals to be needlessly burdened due to systemic and individual prejudice. But how does this extend to the realm of political accessibility? And if the impact is great, can we truly claim that the era of Jim Crow is over? To address this question, I utilized the data collected by the Cooperative Election Study in 2020, working to emphasize the impact of systemic racism through the examination of experienced wait times at the polling booth. This study suggests a correlation between non-whiteness and increased wait times while voting, along with increased wait times for those of income brackets under the national average. Acknowledging this formally through data allows us to move forward in our attempts to counteract such effects. This study confirms the heightened wait times experienced by non-white voters as displayed in former studies, but goes beyond common current research as it focuses on systemic factors such as intergenerational wealth and redlining.
Recommended Citation
LaDuke-Lott, Icarus, "The Questionable Death of Jim Crow: How Systemic Racism Impacts Voting Accessibility by Ways of Wait Times" (2023). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 5.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/5
Included in
American Politics Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social Justice Commons
