As a general rule, most people think that race and anti-race determine voting patterns. Many voters on the left thinnk that supporters of Trump are motivated by racism. One Psychologist recently said that "as a nation, we must face the possibility that a large segment of the white population harbors strong racist and bigoted beliefs."
But is that really true?
A meta-analytic study out of the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) disputes that claim. Meta-analytical studies are the analysis of many different studies on a question. And the question is very important for today's presidential race. With Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for president, are voters motivated by race?
The Amsterdam study included results from 43 experiments, based largely on US participants and including 305,632 participants.
The authors concluded, "On average the political underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities citizens is unlikely to be caused by voters." Overall, race doesn't play a substantial role in voter decision about candidates. The study also indicated that it fits with other evidence that voters show a slight preference for women candidates.
I can hear a lot of people disagreeing with those conclusions. But that's what 43 different experiments reveal. It becomes more obvious that Western democracies are working toward "historically unprecedented levels of egalitarianism." It fits with the fact that about three years ago my 60 year-old daughter married a Liberian--a former student of hers. And absolutely no one gives a damn--other than the marriage is meaningful and happy. I, for example, think he's just a delightful guy! It's no different what-so-ever than the easy comment of my thirty-plus year-old coach made, when asked about his family, that one of his brothers is gay. It's just ho-hum.