By John A. Tures, LaGrange College In Georgia, if no candidate receives 50% of the general election vote for a statewide or congressional district race, there’s a runoff between the top two vote-getters. In recent decades, the Peach State has had four high-profile runoff elections, all for the U.S. Senate.…
A brief history of Georgia’s runoff voting – and how this year’s contest between two Black men is a sign of progress
By Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College In the U.S., all elections are administered by the states. But not all states use the same rules. Georgia uses a version of runoff voting, which entails two rounds of voting. Typically, if a candidate wins more than 50% of…
With Val Demings’ and Cheri Beasley’s losses, there are still no Black women in the U.S. Senate
Originally published by The 19th By Candice Norwood, The 19th The Senate has had no Black women since Kamala Harris became the country’s first woman vice president nearly two years ago. This year, two candidates had a chance of changing that: Cheri Beasley of North Carolina and Val Demings of…
How Ron DeSantis Blew Up Black-Held Congressional Districts and May Have Broken Florida Law
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Originally published Oct. 11, 2022. By Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was incensed. Late last year, the state’s…
How Tennessee disenfranchised 21% of its Black citizens
This story was originally published by ProPublica. By Bianca Fortis, ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Leola Scott recently decided to become a more active citizen. The 55-year-old resident of Dyersburg, Tennessee,…
Black women helped drive record early voting in Georgia. They’re not done.
Organizers were offering rides and information about how to make a plan to vote Tuesday in a state with high-profile races for Senate, governor and state legislature. By Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th This story was originally published by The 19th ATLANTA — On Friday, the last day of early voting…
Georgia’s GOP overhauled the state’s election laws in 2021 – and critics argue the target was Black voter turnout, not election fraud
Richard F. Doner, Emory University In the rash of election reform laws enacted after former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud during the 2020 presidential election, few were tougher than SB 202 – the Election Integrity Act – passed in 2021 in Georgia, a state long known for its…
Prominent Black leaders meet with Biden after historic speech warning of extremists’ threat to US democracy
Following his historic primetime speech to the nation Thursday night, President Joe Biden convened with a group of prominent Black civil rights leaders on Friday to hear their concerns about threats to democracy and ongoing attempts by far-right conservatives to stymie Black voting power. Leaders representing multiple civil rights organizations,…
Federal court upholds Jim Crow-era law in Mississippi accused of disenfranchising Black voters
A federal court has reportedly upheld a 132-year-old voting law in Mississippi believed to have been created to deny Black people their voting rights for a lifetime. The U.S. Appeals Court for the Fifth Circuit came to that decision on Tuesday about a voting law established in 1890, citing the…
SCOTUS temporarily blocks Georgia law considered discriminatory towards Black voters
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Black voters who have been challenging the state of Georgia’s process of electing seat holders to its public service commission. The conservative-leaning SCOTUS’ decision followed different rulings from lower courts. Earlier this month, a federal district judge found that the current…
Michigan Governor tells Black pastors racism, anti-semitism on the rise
During a meeting with a group of Black pastors Tuesday in Detroit, Governor Gretchen Whitmer warned the religious leaders that racism and anti-semitism are on the rise in Michigan and throughout the country. Whitmer visited a church to encourage voter participation and discuss concerns for the Michigan community in a…
Racially-tinged redistricting efforts in Florida face legal challenges
Republican-led efforts to dismantle Black voting power in Florida may have to contend with a new round of legal challenges to overturn a key ruling over redistricting congressional maps. Changes to Florida’s congressional districts, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, are already facing a legal challenge initiated by the…