african-american voters

November 4, 2016 - With just two days left of early voting, African-American early voting in the biggest battleground state of 2016 is down 25 percent from four years ago. Why is black early voting down, and what are groups doing to close the gap heading into Election Day?

September 16, 2016 - Voting rights advocates are calling North Carolina counties' early voting plans finalized last week an "overall victory." A look at why early voting is so important to democracy.

September 8, 2016 - While Virginia's Democratic governor battles Republican lawmakers over restoring voting rights for ex-felons who've completed their sentences, almost 200,000 of the state's residents — almost half of them African-American — remain disenfranchised, mostly for nonviolent crimes.

June 24, 2016 - This week marks the three-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. As a consequence, most states across the South will have restrictive new voting laws in place for the first time in a presidential contest. Could they tip the outcome?

February 19, 2016 - The string of Southern primaries that kicks off this weekend in South Carolina gives voters in the region a unique opportunity to shape the 2016 election and reflects Southern states' growing influence over national politics.

September 25, 2015 - The recent case of Ahmed Mohamed, a Sudanese-American student in Irving, Texas who was detained for bringing a homemade clock to school, has shed light on tension between the Dallas suburb's racially diverse population and its nearly entirely white local leadership — a dynamic that has persisted despite efforts to ensure local leadership reflects the broader community.

January 23, 2015 - An Institute analysis of who turned out for the 2014 midterm election in North Carolina finds small but steady increases in engagement among voters of color. Could they make the difference in the state in 2016?