Political institutions are socially constructed rules manifesting the preferences and strategic interactions of key actors at decisive moments. We investigate a contentious episode of institutional change in a divided society: the adoption of direct presidential elections in Turkey, approved by referendum in October 2007. Process tracing and regression analyses demonstrate that Kurdish politicians and voters in Turkey supported this reform. However, direct elections are unlikely to increase Kurds’ leverage over choosing Turkey's presidents and may even diminish it. Kurdish support for direct elections is better explained by the reform's broader anticipated impacts on the structuring of state power.