Candidates with Arab Names in German Municipal Elections: An Underrepresented Minority

Abstract In this article, we extend the discussion of Arab name discrimination from the social and economic arena to the electoral arena. We ask the following question: Do candidates with Arab and Turkish-sounding names face electoral disadvantages? We answer this question using a random sample of 100 German municipal elections comprising more than 6,400 candidates. We find that councilors with Arab/Turkish-sounding names make up less than 0.2% of all councilors. We further discover that this underrepresentation stems largely, but not solely, from a lack of supply of Arab/Turkish candidates. There is also some electoral discrimination in that candidates with Arab/Turkish-sounding name get relegated to less beneficial list positions. However, voters seem not to further discriminate against Arab/Turkish-sounding names.