The relative political disengagement of people living in poverty poses an enduring challenge to the integrity of American democracy. In 1993, Congress attempted to address this by passing section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act. This law requires that all public assistance agencies serve as voter registration sites. Though advocates had high hopes for section 7, it has proven difficult to implement. Since very early on, state compliance has varied widely, maintaining an overall trajectory of decline. This article explains the reasons for such patterns. By examining changes in compliance between 1995 and 2012, I demonstrate that race is a pivotal determinant of when states incorporate low-income policy beneficiaries into the electorate. I find that state compliance decreases significantly when (i) non-Whites are less active in electoral politics relative to their White counterparts; (ii) African Americans comprise a greater share of the state population; and (iii) welfare bureaucracies employ more Latinos. These findings raise concerns about the political equality of disadvantaged citizens and underscore the need to scrutinize the outcomes of expansionary voting policies. Even more broadly, this research shows how the entanglement of race and poverty in a federalist polity frustrates efforts to advance participatory equality.

中文翻译：

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种族、贫困和投票权的重新分配

生活在贫困中的人们在政治上的相对脱离对美国民主的完整性构成了持久的挑战。1993 年，国会试图通过《国家选民登记法》第 7 节来解决这个问题。该法要求所有公共援助机构都作为选民登记点。尽管倡导者对第 7 条寄予厚望，但事实证明它难以实施。从很早就开始，各州的合规性差异很大，总体保持下降趋势。本文解释了这种模式的原因。通过检查 1995 年至 2012 年间合规性的变化，我证明种族是各州何时将低收入政策受益人纳入选民的关键决定因素。我发现当 (i) 非白人在选举政治中相对于白人同行不那么活跃时，国家遵从性会显着降低；(ii) 非裔美国人在州人口中所占的比例更大；(iii) 福利官僚机构雇用更多的拉丁裔。这些发现引起了对弱势公民政治平等的担忧，并强调需要仔细审查扩张性投票政策的结果。更广泛地说，这项研究表明联邦制政体中种族和贫困的纠缠如何阻碍促进参与性平等的努力。这些发现引起了对弱势公民政治平等的担忧，并强调需要仔细审查扩张性投票政策的结果。更广泛地说，这项研究表明联邦制政体中种族和贫困的纠缠如何阻碍促进参与性平等的努力。这些发现引起了对弱势公民政治平等的担忧，并强调需要仔细审查扩张性投票政策的结果。更广泛地说，这项研究表明联邦制政体中种族和贫困的纠缠如何阻碍促进参与性平等的努力。