Author Description

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the number of Latino and African-American congressional representatives has increased dramatically. Benefiting in part from VRA provisions that create so-called majority-minority districts—those in which minority groups constitute a majority of the voting population—California's minority legislators have emerged as visible political actors in an institution traditionally dominated by whites. Advocates argue that majority-minority districts are beneficial because they encourage more Latinos and African Americans to participate in the political process. Although this claim has met with considerable skepticism, so far neither the advocates nor the skeptics have offered firm evidence for or against the link between majority-minority redistricting and increased political participation. Claudine Gay's The Effect of Minority Districts and Minority Representation on Political Participation in California provides this evidence by addressing two key questions: Do Latino, African-American, and white turnout rates vary with the racial and ethnic balance of a district? Does the race or ethnicity of the congressional representative in a majority-minority district affect these turnout rates? Answers to these questions have important implications for redistricting in 2001. If majority-minority districts promote political participation among Latinos and African Americans, creating such districts may compensate for other socioeconomic barriers that are associated with low voter participation. As a result of connecting new voters to the political world, race-conscious redistricting can create an active electorate that more accurately reflects the state's racial and ethnic make-up.