I study elections by exploring the interplay between institutions and behavior. I zero-in on the (formal or informal) rules that define the material function of language and structure the political connotations it carries. Moreover, my research traces the ways in which those linguistic dimensions dictate the choices made available to individuals in their daily lives and uncovers their use in racialized systems of exclusion. As a relatively new field of research, I establish foundational methodological criteria on how to measure and assess such language-based differences. This works uses a full spectrum of investigative methods (e.g., quantitative, computational, neuroscience) and analytical approaches to interpret all kinds of data for a wide range of causal explanations.