Mail Voting as a Tool to Avoid Voter Intimidation and Hate Crimes

In this study, we examine if and how exposure to hate crimes is associated with the method of vote utilized by African American voters in the 2016 general election. Specifically, we are interested in how exposure to heightened levels of hate crimes at the county-level influences African Americans’ decision to vote-by-mail (VBM) as opposed to in-person (either early or election day voting). We examine the question using the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey and FBI county-level hate crime data (2013–2016). The FBI Uniform Crime Report hate crime dataset provides information on the physical location of the hate crime events. We merge the hate crime data with the CMPS data to examine if and how heightened rates of hate crime affect choice of voting mode. Consistent with expectations, we find that African Americans living in areas with higher levels of hate crimes are more likely to vote-by- mail rather than in person, potentially as a way to avoid the risk of encountering hate crimes.