Black voter turnout surges in US south despite Republican redistricting drive: ‘They could not stop the momentum’
Summary
Black voter turnout rose across several Southern states in the 2026 midterm elections, even as Republican-led redistricting changed districts that voting-rights groups said weakened Black political representation. Democrats held or flipped seats in Alabama, Texas and Florida, and Alabama Democrat Shomari Figures won his race by nearly eight points despite a map that made his district more favorable to Republicans.Key Facts
- The article links the turnout surge to protests and voter mobilization after the Supreme Court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais and subsequent redistricting in Southern states.
- Republican lawmakers redrew maps in Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana, including changes to majority-Black districts.
- Alabama reinstated an older congressional map after the Supreme Court decision, changing the district that elected Shomari Figures in 2024.
- Figures won re-election by nearly eight points, according to the article.
- Alabama turnout increased from 28% in 2022 to 44% in 2026, a 65% rise, according to data reviewed by the Guardian.
- Turnout in the Black-majority areas of Figures’s district increased by 81%; the district’s three highest-turnout counties were majority-Black.
- Voting-rights groups, including Black Voters Matter and Color of Change, worked to mobilize voters across the South.
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