NPR reports on a fascinating (and alarming) study — I’d seen an earlier draft.  Researchers emailed state legislators, asking what kind of documentation they needed; the only difference in the emails was the name of the sender (Jacob Smith or Santiago Rodriguez).  Then they tracked response rates.

The intriguing findings are in line with an earlier study with a similar design: an email to state legislators asking for help registering.  Two variations: sometimes a party was identified, sometimes not; some emails came from Jake Mueller and some from DeShawn Jackson.  The differential response rates are striking (and deeply unfortunate).