Rising levels of crime and insecurity affect the quality of life. A fundamental question for the prospects of democracy is whether voters, in hopes of reaching better solutions to conditions of prevailing insecurity, can hold their elected officials accountable for such situations. This article argues that electoral accountability amid criminal violence requires voters to be able to assign responsibility for crime, and that partisan alignment across levels of government facilitates this task. Recent Mexican elections are examined to test this argument. Relying on both aggregate electoral data and individual survey evidence, this study shows that voters hold politicians accountable for crime in the narrow circumstances of organized crime–related violence and political alignment. This evidence not only provides additional caveats to issue voting models, but also opens new avenues of research on electoral accountability.

中文翻译：

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刑事暴力中的选举责任：来自墨西哥的证据

犯罪率上升和不安全感影响生活质量。A fundamental question for the prospects of democracy is whether voters, in hopes of reaching better solutions to conditions of prevailing insecurity, can hold their elected officials accountable for such situations. 本文认为，刑事暴力中的选举问责制要求选民能够分配犯罪责任，而各级政府的党派结盟有助于这项任务。对最近的墨西哥选举进行了检验以检验这一论点。本研究依靠汇总的选举数据和个人调查证据表明，在与有组织犯罪相关的暴力和政治结盟的狭隘情况下，选民认为政客要对犯罪负责。