Elections and Voting
January 15, 2016 -
North Carolinians who lack one of several state-approved photo IDs can still vote in the upcoming election — but they might not know that from materials put out by the state elections board. The NAACP held a press conference this week to set the record straight.
January 14, 2016 -
A new report looks at the demographics of state legislatures across the country and finds that in the South they are disproportionately male and more religious. They are also more racially diverse — at least for now.
December 16, 2015 -
After issuing two formal warnings about the problem, an alliance of voting rights advocates and affected individuals have sued North Carolina officials for failing to comply with federal laws that require state agencies to help people register to vote.
December 9, 2015 -
In a Texas case titled Evenwel v. Abbott, the plaintiffs are seeking to count eligible voters rather than the total population when drawing political districts — a move that could significantly shift political representation to older, whiter communities in the South and elsewhere across the country.
December 4, 2015 -
This week the N.C. NAACP, voting rights advocates and faith leaders kicked off an 80-day mass voter engagement campaign in the run-up to the March primary — a nonpartisan effort to resist recent efforts by state leaders to make voting harder.
November 30, 2015 -
In 2016, the U.S. will hold the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protections of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Facing South sat down with investigative journalist Ari Berman to discuss his new book "Give Us the Ballot" to discuss the 50-year history of the VRA and lessons we can learn for the modern voting rights struggle.
November 25, 2015 -
Outgoing Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) signed an executive order this week to automatically restore voting rights to certain felons. The state is among several in the South with harsh felony disenfranchisement laws that disproportionately deprive African-American citizens of access to the ballot.
