A series of deaths of Black Americans at the hands of the police sparked mass protests, received extensive media coverage, and fueled a new civil rights movement in the years leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Both major party nominees campaigned on issues of race and policing in different ways. Drawing on colorblind racism theories and the history of law‐and‐order politics, we explore how views of race relations and the police were associated with voting behavior. We ask, on the one hand, whether people were engaged with the civil rights issues raised by Black Lives Matter and, on the other hand, whether Trump's expressions of support for the police functioned as a racial “dog whistle” to mobilize a particular set of voters. Using the 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES) Time Series Study, we find that concern about biased policing and support for the civil rights movement seeking to address it were associated with increased turnout among Democrats and more votes for Clinton. In addition, consistent with a dog whistle effect, claims of supporting the police were connected to votes for Trump mainly among those with high levels of racial resentment. We conclude by discussing the symbolic role of police in American society and politics.

中文翻译：

---

2016年总统大选中的种族与警政：黑人生活至关重要，警察和狗哨政治

在2016年总统大选前的几年中，一系列黑人在警察手中的死亡引发了大规模抗议活动，得到了广泛的媒体报道，并推动了新的民权运动。两位主要政党候选人都以不同方式在种族和警务问题上进行竞选。借助色盲种族主义理论和法治政治的历史，我们探索了种族关系和警察的观点如何与投票行为相关联。我们一方面问，人们是否参与了布莱克·莱特斯（Black Lives Matter）提出的民权问题，另一方面，特朗普对警察的支持是否起到了种族“狗哨”的作用，从而动员了特定人群的选民。使用2016年美国全国选举研究（ANES）时间序列研究，我们发现，对于偏颇的警务政策和对寻求解决这一问题的民权运动的支持的担忧，与民主党人的投票率增加和克林顿获得更多选票有关。此外，与狗口哨效应相一致，支持警察的主张与特朗普的选票有关，主要是在种族怨恨程度高的人中。最后，我们讨论警察在美国社会和政治中的象征性作用。