December 3, 2020 -
First-time voters including young people, former felons, and newly naturalized citizens proved to be a crucial voting bloc in many races nationwide including in Georgia, which a Democratic presidential candidate hadn't won in 28 years. Experts predict that these first-time voters will continue to play an important role in shaping Southern and national politics.
December 1, 2020 -
Republican lawmakers in Florida and Washington, D.C., are pushing bills to keep workers or customers who get COVID-19 from holding businesses accountable in court. The GOP wants legal immunity for businesses that comply with government standards.
November 20, 2020 -
Democrats hoped 2020 would be their year to make gains in state legislatures across the South, which would give them greater control over redistricting. But their vision failed to materialize.
November 19, 2020 -
A whistleblower complaint has alleged that nonconsensual hysterectomies were being performed on women held at an ICE detention facility in Georgia — and ICE is responding to the allegations by deporting the women. The mistreatment is part of a long history of medical abuses of reproductive rights in the South.
November 19, 2020 -
Large poultry processors like Tyson have come under public fire for failing to protect their workers from COVID-19. But smaller poultry companies have had the same problems — and much less scrutiny.
November 18, 2020 -
Last year, courts ordered the North Carolina legislature to undo the extreme partisan gerrymandering that kept Republicans in control, even when Democrats got more total votes. But the recent election results suggest that many of the districts remained skewed towards the GOP.
November 18, 2020 -
Black voters turned out in record numbers this election cycle but had to overcome barriers to the ballot box that undermine the fairness of the electoral process. Advocates continue to call for restoring the Voting Rights Act to ensure that African American voters are protected from voter suppression.
