Political Power and Mortality: Heterogeneous Effects of the U.S. Voting Rights Act
OFH Contributors
Key Takeaways
The 1975 extension of the U.S. Voting Rights Act (VRA), which reduced barriers to voting for disenfranchised non-white populations, led to broad declines in death rates among young children. However, it’s impacts on health in other groups varied. The VRA extension led to improvements in health fornon-white children, young adults, and older women., However, death rates increased for white individuals and older non-white men.
The observed differences in mortality by group cannot be explained solely by changes in the demographic makeup or material living conditions of those affected by the policy, suggesting deeper social or structural mechanisms are at work.
Instead, the evidence suggests that the VRA led to increased perceptions of diminishing status among white individuals, resulting in stress and poor health. The rise in death rates for older non-white men suggests the importance of retaliatory responses stemming from these perceived threats to social status.
The findings illustrate that policies that seek to enfranchise those long left behind can varied consequences for population health. Getting the most out of these policies means addressing zero-sum thinking among those who perceive they are losing out.
Executive Summary
Introduction
Policies that seek to empower marginalized population groups can impact health and well-being in complex ways. This study examines how redistributing political power through the 1975 extension of the U.S. Voting Rights Act (VRA) affected health. The VRA removed barriers that had disenfranchised many non-white people, allowing members of historically excluded groups to better participate and inform our democracy. In doing so, the VRA could have improved health in these groups by improving public services and economic status. However, the VRA may have among those who already held political power – namely white individuals – by either reducing their economic status or threatening their social position. We examined trends in death rates by age, race, and gender to understand whether changes in political power translated into measurable health effects, and to investigate potential demographic, material, and psychological mechanisms underlying these effects.
Main Findings
- After the VRA extension, death rates declined among non-white children, younger adults, and older women, while increasing among white populations and older non-white men. These contrasting patterns indicate that the health effects of expanded political power were not uniform across the population.
- In looking for explanations for this unusual pattern, we found little evidence that shifts in income, employment, or migration explain the observed mortality patterns. In fact, income improved for both white and non-white households after the VRA. This suggests that the link between political enfranchisement and health operates through channels beyond traditional economic resources or access to material goods.
- Along those lines, we leverage historical survey data and additional analysis of mortality trends across different population subgroups, finding suggestive evidence that stress from perceived threats to social position and status increased death rates among white people. We also provide suggestive evidence that retaliation as a result of this stress may have harmed the health of older non-white men.
These findings highlight how political reforms can improve health for some groups, but also generate social conflict and stress responses that may harm it for others.
Conclusion
The 1975 extension of the Voting Rights Act had significant but heterogeneous impacts on mortality, underscoring that political reforms can influence population health in nuanced ways. Expanding voting rights appears to have benefited several historically disenfranchised groups yet also coincided with adverse outcomes for others. This underscores the need for public health and policy analyses to move beyond purely economic explanations and consider how identity, stress, and social cohesion mediate the relationship between political institutions, populations, and health. Understanding these complex pathways can inform future efforts to promote both political fairness and public health. For example, strategies to address zero-sum thinking among those who already hold power can better allow us to leverage the potential health gains from improving opportunities to participate in our democracy.