The Racial Factor in Nonpartisan Judicial Elections: A Research Note

The role of racial cues in low salience, nonpartisan judicial elections is investigated in the 1984 Oregon Primary elections. Two judicial contests involving black and white candidates were studied by comparing the voting results of predominantly black voting precincts with those of socioeconomically comparable but predominantly white voting precincts. Findings reported suggest that the racial cue played an important role. Blacks tend to vote overwhelmingly for black candidates, while interest in black candidates falls off sharply in white precincts. With regard to voter attitudes, those favoring the placement of more minorities on the bench were predominantly Democrats and liberals. For many voters the racial cue, substituting for these political party and ideological leanings, can be argued to represent a "rational" cue in such elections.