Our former guestblogger “Dan Hopkins”:http://people.iq.harvard.edu/~dhopkins/ has an interesting “working paper”:http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1434374 on the topic. Dan uses a clever research design to show that a legislative reform that mandated bilingual election materials in districts with large Latino populations increased turnout among citizens who speak little English and affected the election outcome. The abstract is below.
bq. **Translating into Votes: The Electoral Impact of Spanish-Language Ballots**
This paper investigates the impact of one election procedure designed to enfranchise immigrants: foreign-language election materials. Specifically, it uses regression discontinuity design to estimate the turnout and election impacts of Spanish-language assistance provided under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. Analyses of two different data sets – the Latino National Survey and California 1998 primary election returns – show that Spanish-language assistance increased turnout for citizens who speak little English. The California results also demonstrate that election procedures have an influence on outcomes, as support for ending bilingual education dropped markedly in heavily Spanish-speaking neighborhoods with Spanish-language assistance. The California analyses find hints of backlash among non-Hispanic white precincts, but not with the same size or certainty. Small changes in election procedures can influence who votes as well as what wins.