When Policies Divide: The Effects of Face Veil Bans on Voting Behaviour

How do voters react to policies targeting ethnic minorities? Governments in Western democracies have recently taken restrictive stances on migration and the integration of minorities. Yet, it is unclear how voters react to the implementation of these policies. We contribute to this gap by studying how policies targeting ethnic minorities influence the electorate's attitudes and behaviour. We argue that policies signal who is considered a member of a polity and normalise more extreme anti-immigration and -integration positions. Studying the face veil ban in Ticino, Switzerland, we find that the adoption of the policy increased anti-migration and -integration voting on subsequent initiatives and referenda. Using survey data, we find that the ban also increased negative attitudes towards Islam - the target of the policy. This has implications for how policies affect attitudes and behaviours towards minorities as well as for the cohesiveness of multicultural societies.