RACE, TURNOUT, AND PUBLIC-POLICY IN THE AMERICAN STATES

We attempt to bridge the conceptual gap between the black politics and state politics literatures by studying the effect of racial differenc es in electoral participation on public policy. If stare politics has considered whether ''voters matter,'' and black politics has asked whe ther ''black elected officials matter,'' we attempt to determine if '' black voters matter.'' In particular, we ask whether, and how, the rac ial composition of the electorate affects state policies. Our results suggest that the greater black participation relative to that of white s, the less liberal are stare policies. The implications for democrati c theory and black politics are discussed.