Assessing Identity as Constraint on Democratic Accountability

Elections are opportunities for citizens to choose who will make decisions for them and who will exert the power of the state over them. Pundits and scholars have contended that voting for a candidate based on their racial, ethnic, or gender identity is irrational and unreasonable and leads to suboptimal outcomes. Political scientist Ismail White will examine how racial, ethnic, and gender identity influence voting decisions and how an initial identity-driven political choice shapes subsequent voting decisions. He will conduct three survey experiments for his study.