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

This paper investigates the relationship between the franchise and law enforcement practices using differential exposure to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. We find that, following the VRA, black arrest rates in counties that both had larger shares of newly enfranchised Blacks and were covered by the legislation fell compared to similar Southern counties. We document no corresponding patterns for white arrests. We also find that police leadership matters. In particular, our results are explained by arrests carried out by sheriffs - who are always elected. Consistent with evidence of baseless arrests for minor crimes documented by several federal inquiries, we also show that the change in police treatment of African Americans is driven by less serious offences. These results indicate that voting rights, when combined with electoral accountability of chief law enforcement officers, lead to improved treatment of minority groups by police.