This study asks whether empathy for racial outgroups predicts greater opposition to state-level voting restrictions, and whether that relationship depends on awareness that such laws are racially targeted. Using multiple national surveys from 2018–2024, the authors examine links between outgroup empathy, political sophistication, and attitudes toward a suite of laws that increase the burden on eligible voters after Shelby County v. Holder.
Outgroup empathy measure Political sophistication conditional effect National survey evidence
Data and methods
The analysis draws on multiple national surveys fielded between 2018 and 2024. The abstract reports measures of respondents' outgroup empathy, indicators of political sophistication (awareness that laws target minorities), and items capturing opposition to a variety of restrictive voting laws. The design examines how empathy relates to policy attitudes and tests whether that relationship is conditional on respondents' political awareness.
Main findings
According to the abstract, higher outgroup empathy corresponds to greater opposition to restrictive voting laws. Importantly, the authors report that this association is highly conditional on political sophistication: empathy predicts opposition most clearly among those likely to recognize that the laws are intended to disadvantage minority groups.
- Empathy is associated with more opposition to voting restrictions in pooled national survey evidence.
- The empathy–opposition link is strongest among respondents with greater political sophistication or awareness.
