Voting Scared: does neighborhood level crime and fear of crime affect voter turnout?

Authors: Timothy M. Bray, Anthony M. Galvan, Denise Paquette Boots

Presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology in New Orleans, LA on November 18, 2016

While many factors impact voter turnout, the act of voting occurs in neighborhoods, and this research seeks to explore the relationship between neighborhood-level crime and voter turnout. Furthermore, an individual’s willingness to participate in the electoral process may be affected, not only by actual crime but also fear of crime in one’s own neighborhood. This research will utilize a multi-level analysis to explore the impact of community-level crime and fear of crime on individual level voter turnout, focusing specifically on individual turnout in municipal elections. Data from the 2015 municipal elections in the city of Dallas is provided by the Dallas County Elections Commission; since the scope is limited to municipal turnout, crime data can be provided by a single jurisdiction: the Dallas Police Department and data regarding fear of crime will come from the 2014 City of Dallas Community Survey.