Policy Narratives in the U.S. Voting Rights Debate

Abstract

This study examines the role of policy narratives in the U.S. voting rights debate. Despite significant scholarship on voting rights and policy narratives in other fields, policy scholars have not specifically analyzed the role of policy narratives in this debate. This research employs the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to investigate whether the debate utilizes policy narratives as defined by the NPF and to assess differences in such usage between Democrats and Republicans, the two primary advocacy coalitions. Analyzing 406 news articles from 2006 to 2023, the study finds substantial use of policy narratives and notable partisan differences in employing certain NPF components. These findings underscore the critical role of policy narratives in the voting rights arena and demonstrate the NPF's value in providing a nuanced understanding of the debate.