Alfreda Monroe hasn’t been inspired to vote for anyone since 2008, when Barack Obama ran for president the first time. But she doesn’t think choosing not to vote justifies having her voter registration canceled. The retired grandmother of six, who lives with her husband in Hinesville, was one of an estimated 478,000 inactive voters due […]
Voting Rights
From the state Capitol to the ballot box, decisions being made across Georgia are shaping Black political power and representation. Capital B Atlanta is following those changes and showing how they affect Black voters and communities across the state.
For more on voting rights across the country, explore our Voting Rights in America coverage.
Posted inElections
How to Keep Your Voter Registration Active Amidst Georgia’s Massive Purge
Voting rights advocates are urging Black Georgians to take appropriate steps this year to ensure they’re not impacted by mass voter registration cancellations and voter eligibility challenges. Nearly half a million people are due to have their Georgia voter registrations canceled no later than July, meaning they won’t be able to cast ballots in key […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
How Formerly Incarcerated Georgians Are Reclaiming Their Voting Power
Denise Ruben is getting ready to vote in a presidential election for the first time in 16 years. Back then, in 2008, a young Illinois senator named Barack Obama was preparing to make history as America’s first Black president. This year, Kamala Harris — the first Black woman to serve as vice president — hopes to follow […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
New Web Page Letting Users Cancel Their Voter Registration Raises Fraud Concerns
Some voting rights advocates fear a new web portal designed to allow former Georgians to easily cancel their Peach State voter registration could be used to fraudulently purge Black voters from the rolls. The new Voter Registration Cancellation web portal, which launched on Monday, requires users to input personal information such as their first and […]
Posted inVoting
Proposed Law Would End Voting Ban for Felony Convictions in Georgia
Voting rights and criminal justice reform advocates are rallying support behind a proposed state law aimed at eliminating a 147-year-old provision of the Georgia constitution that experts say was created to limit Black people’s access to the ballot box. The measure known as SB 179 and a companion resolution are the latest attempt by Georgia […]
Posted inVoting
Lawmakers Begin Redrawing Political Maps With More Majority Black Districts Today
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 […]
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 […]
