What does this research mean for the field?

White Americans' construal of voting as a privilege, rather than solely a right, mediates the relationship between anti-Black attitudes and support for policies that suppress voting access. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how White Americans conceptualize voting as an exclusionary privilege versus a fundamental right, and whether this construal links anti-Black attitudes to support for voter suppression.

August 30, 2026Journal of Experimental Psychology General

A right and a privilege? Examining White americans’ construal of voting as a privilege, anti-Black attitudes, and voter suppression support.

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To examine how White Americans conceptualize voting as an exclusionary privilege versus a fundamental right, and whether this construal links anti-Black attitudes to support for voter suppression.
Conducted four multi-method studies across a combined sample (N = 10,016) evaluating racial attitudes, voting beliefs, and voter restriction policy support.
Conducted mediation analyses to test whether privilege construal explains the relationship between anti-Black attitudes and support for both legal (e.g., voter ID laws) and illegal (e.g., literacy tests) voter suppression.
Experimentally manipulated prescriptive beliefs regarding whether voting should be defined as a privilege or a right to test causal effects on voter access support.
White Americans frequently viewed voting as both a right and a privilege, but only the privilege construal mediated the positive relationship between anti-Black attitudes and voter suppression support.
Viewing voting as a privilege correlated with minimizing modern racism and prioritizing voting restrictions among White Americans, a pattern not observed in Black Americans.
Experimental manipulation of prescriptive norms demonstrated that framing voting as a right rather than a privilege causally increased support for policies expanding voter access.

Discussion

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Implication

Experimental investigation reveals that viewing voting as a privilege links anti-Black attitudes to voter suppression in White Americans, indicating how race-neutral framing maintains group power.

Cite This Study

Higginbotham et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f02f6c1a8fb52e79c1fe https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001984

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Implication

Experimental investigation reveals that viewing voting as a privilege links anti-Black attitudes to voter suppression in White Americans, indicating how race-neutral framing maintains group power.

A right and a privilege? Examining White americans’ construal of voting as a privilege, anti-Black attitudes, and voter suppression support.

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

A right and a privilege? Examining White americans’ construal of voting as a privilege, anti-Black attitudes, and voter suppression support.

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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