With each vote in our democratic system carrying as much weight as any other, one would imagine that no one voter would be deemed any more important than the next.  Alas, that’s not what new research from San Francisco State University shows, with white voters courted more intently than those from ethnic minorities.

The study suggests that whereas both the Democratic and Republican parties tend to sideline nonwhite voters, nonpartisan community-based organizations are able to effectively mobilize them.

“Political parties make electoral calculations that create disincentives for nonwhite mobilization because they are seen as a smaller group that is less likely to vote,” the authors say. “It changes the relationship between the voters and the system when the two organizing parties don’t include them, leaving an important civic void to fill.”

A long-standing issue

It’s an issue the researchers had previously looked at, with data from the 2008 election highlighting how often, and even by whom, various racial voting blocs had been contacted prior to the vote.  This analysis found that white voters were contacted 3% more often than Latino voters, and 6% more than Asian voters.

This understanding then correlated with voter participation, whether attending rallies or donating money.  There were clear signs that if political parties made the effort to contact nonwhite voters, they were much more likely to participate than their white neighbors.

“But when political parties do reach out to nonwhite groups the impact is greater, meaning parties could actually do more with less, but choose not to,” the authors explain. “A lot of voters or potential voters are getting ignored unless a community organization or institution steps in and mobilizes them.”

The study shows that unfortunately, the situation has not improved since 2008, with the data from 2016 showing it’s actually gotten worse.  Turnout among nonwhites dropped from 56.1% in 2012 to just 52.7% in 2016.

The problem for political parties is that these are rapidly growing demographics.  Latino voters grew by around 40% between 2008 and 2016, whilst Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the US.  It’s a demographic they can’t afford to ignore any more.

“You cannot get voters to the polls by ignoring them or hoping that their community organizations will do the work,” the authors conclude. “Just that contact from a political party, being asked or being reminded — that’s all it takes.”