We investigate how transfers of military equipment in the United States through the 1033 Program impact the electoral performance of sheriffs that receive a significant share of equipment while directly accountable to voters. To address this question, we have compiled a unique dataset covering 7281 sheriff elections in 2714 counties between 2006 and 2016. Our findings indicate that an increase in military transfers to the sheriff’s office, from no transfers to the 25th percentile, increases the probability of the incumbent being reelected by 5.8–12.5 percentage points. This is due to an increase in the number of votes cast for the incumbent while there is no effect on the total number of voters participating in the election. Our heterogeneity results demonstrate that voters tend to reward military equipment transfers, especially when local newspapers are present and in Republican-leaning small counties, providing novel insights into voter responsiveness in local elections (JEL D72, H56, H76, K42).

中文翻译：

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警察军事化和地方警长选举

我们调查了美国通过 1033 计划转移军事装备如何影响警长的选举表现，这些警长在直接向选民负责的同时获得了大量装备。为了解决这个问题，我们编制了一个独特的数据集，涵盖 2006 年至 2016 年间 2714 个县的 7281 次警长选举。我们的研究结果表明，向警长办公室调动的军事人员从没有调动到第 25 个百分位，增加了当选的可能性。现任者以 5.8-12.5 个百分点的优势再次当选。这是由于现任者的票数增加，但对参与选举的选民总数没有影响。我们的异质性结果表明，选民倾向于奖励军事装备转让，特别是当当地报纸存在且在倾向共和党的小县时，这为当地选举中选民的反应提供了新颖的见解（JEL D72、H56、H76、K42）。