Decisions made in courts across the country are changing the rules of voting and shifting Black political power. Capital B is tracking the fight for voting rights to show who is affected, where power is shifting, and what the changes mean for Black communities nationwide. For voting rights stories from across the country, visit our […]
Voting
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Amid Attacks on Voting Rights, Atlanta Remembers John Lewis
As Black voters face a new wave of attacks on their right to cast ballots, the legacy of U.S. Rep. John Lewis serves as a source of inspiration for community organizers who are fighting back. On July 17, the sixth anniversary of the civil rights icon’s passing, Women on the Rise led a group of […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Georgia Republicans Back Away From Redistricting Plan After Outcry
Efforts to begin redrawing Georgia’s voting district maps through a special session of the General Assembly have been canceled. The Republicans’ plan, which many feared would disenfranchise Black and brown voters, had already sparked multiple protests Wednesday at the Georgia State Capitol. “Changes to Georgia’s maps should take place only when members of the General […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, State Politics, Voting
Black Elders Warn Georgia Voters Not to Let Their Voice Slip Away
Columbus resident Dorris Porter Edgerton is aware of the Republican-led redistricting efforts looming in the General Assembly, but she’s more concerned about a lack of Black voter engagement in the state’s second-most populous city. “We have lots of people who really just do not vote at all because they say it won’t make a difference,” […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Black Organizers Revive Freedom Summer Amid Voting Rights Fight
In the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gutted Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, All Roads Lead to the South launched Freedom Summer 2026 to continue the legacy of the 1964 Mississippi voter activism campaign. Affirming the importance of Black civil rights and voter education, the multiracial coalition will […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Keisha Lance Bottoms Wins Democratic Nomination for Georgia Governor
Name recognition across Georgia helped former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms outpace her Democratic rivals to win the party’s nomination for governor Tuesday. The magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on Bottoms when she took the stage around 11 p.m. with her husband and four children. She appeared to get choked up multiple times during […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Voting
She Spent 26 Years in Prison, Now She’s Registering to Vote in Georgia
Kareemah Hanifa just registered to vote for the first time in her life. As a juvenile, Hanifa, now 48, was sentenced to life in prison and spent 26 years incarcerated before she was released on parole in 2019. “I’m feeling nervous, I’m also feeling anxious and a little bit scared,” Hanifa said just before she […]
Posted inCapital B Atlanta, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, State Politics, Voting
Amid Threats, Black Farmer Seeks to Flip Seat Once Held by Marjorie Taylor Greene
The standard uniform for most candidates running for public office consists of suits and loafers — maybe a blazer and some jeans. But Shawn Harris — the Black cattle farmer vying to replace former MAGA champion Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s U.S. Congressional District 14 — says he regularly wears a bulletproof vest on the […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Voter Engagement Groups Stepping Up as New Georgia Project Shuts Down
The recently announced shuttering of the New Georgia Project — which has mobilized hundreds of thousands of voters across the state since former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams founded the group in 2013 — was disappointing, but not surprising to Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright. “We’ve known for some time that they’ve been headed in […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Election 2025: What to Know Before You Head to the Polls
Voters head to the polls tomorrow for an election cycle that will decide the next mayor of Atlanta, four seats on Atlanta’s Board of Education, and two seats on the state’s impactful Public Service Commission. This fall’s contests will also decide all 15 seats on the Atlanta City Council, the next City Council president, and […]
