Black voter turnout surges in US south despite Republican redistricting drive: ‘They could not stop the momentum’
The Guardian reports that Black voter turnout surged across the US south despite Republican redistricting meant to diminish Black political power. Democrats flipped or held seats in Alabama, Texas and Florida; Alabama turnout rose from 28% in 2022 to 44% in 2026, with Black-majority turnout in Shomari Figures's district up 81%. Advocates link the surge to backlash against the supreme court's Louisiana v Callais decision, which gutted a key Voting Rights Act provision, and Ashley K Shelton says the redistricting drive "blew up" in Republicans' faces.
