Georgia lawmakers are set to start redrawing the state’s political maps today to create a number of new majority-Black voting districts in conjunction with an Oct. 26 federal district court ruling. But their efforts could eventually be undermined by a more-recent federal appeals court decision barring individual voters and other private parties — including groups […]
voting rights
Posted inVoting
Why Voting Rights for People with Felony Convictions Matters
Kareemah Hanifa is an Atlanta-based community organizer and activist who helps people with felony convictions restore their voting rights. She leads the Inner-City Muslim Action Network’s No Taxation Without Representation campaign, fighting state laws that bar many Georgians with criminal records from casting ballots. But Hanifa was advocating for people behind bars decades before she […]
Posted inVoting
Why These Black Seniors Are Worried About Voting in the Senate Runoff
Voting rights advocate James Davenport is worried about his community’s ability to vote in the upcoming Senate runoff. On Election Day, poll workers incorrectly redirected several of his mostly Black neighbors in an Old Fourth Ward senior apartment building to a voting precinct in Hapeville, 12 miles southwest of Atlanta, he said. The commotion started […]
Posted inVoting
How to Vote In Georgia if You Have a Felony Conviction
When it comes to voting, Georgia is tough on felons. In fact, the state denies the vote to its citizens with a felony conviction at almost twice the national rate — 3.8% of the state’s voting-age population, versus 2.3% nationally — according to a study from the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization focused on incarceration […]
Posted inVoting
Black Voting Rights Activists Struggling With Burnout, Lack of Funding
Community organizer Hannah Gebresilassie is tired, but undeterred. On any given week, Gebresilassie and her fellow activists with Protect the Vote GA, a nonpartisan voter engagement nonprofit, spend an estimated 20 to 30 hours working to ensure Black and brown Georgians have equal access to the ballot box. That’s on top of the 40 hours […]
Posted inNews Roundup
Voting Rights for Black Georgians at Center of Federal Trial
Top of the morning! Here is Your AM Rundown, with news updates in 400 words or less. Get caught up on headlines and other developments you might’ve missed. Here’s what’s up in Atlanta today: A federal trial centered on voting rights and Black residents in metro Atlanta kicked off this week. The lawsuit, Rose v. […]