louisiana

December 6, 2019 - With reform blocked in Washington, voting rights advocates are shifting their attention to the states and are proposing far-reaching, pro-democracy agendas across the South. While the plans face an uphill battle, advocates see their efforts as a chance to be proactive after years of playing legal and political defense.

November 20, 2019 - In the U.S. census count set for next year, many states in the South will continue to count prisoners as residents of the district where the prison is located rather than in their home communities — a practice that distorts representative democracy. But efforts are underway in some states to change how prisoners are counted.

September 25, 2019 - Elections for high courts in five Southern states will take place over the next year, including special elections in Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Some of these courts are already facing unprecedented political pressure, and more money in high court races is coming from groups that don't disclose their donors.

September 20, 2019 - Big-city leaders in the early primary states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina have told presidential candidates that it will take the promise of funding focused on racial justice and equitable housing, climate, and infrastructure policies to win their support.

September 4, 2019 - A gathering of conservative anti-death penalty activists in New Orleans this month could help shift the debate over capital punishment in Louisiana and across the South.

July 17, 2019 - Religious organizations posing as licensed health facilities, so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" peddle misinformation to discourage people from seeking abortion. Yet some Southern states are funding these fraudulent clinics with taxpayer money — and now the North Carolina legislature wants to give them even more. 

March 28, 2019 - After the state legislature failed to revamp a judicial voting district found to be racially discriminatory, a federal court has picked a technical advisor from California to do the job instead. Will the non-white voters of Terrebonne Parish finally get a fair shot at electing a judge of their choice next year?