Leading up to 1st Anniversary of Allen v. Milligan, NRF Announces Launch of Voter Education Series in VRA States
For Immediate Release
June 5, 2024
Contact
Madia Coleman
coleman@redistrictingfoundation.org
Series will start with Alabama, which could make history in November on new map
Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) announced it will launch a series of virtual voter education events in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana, to educate voters about new Black opportunity districts that resulted following last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision, Allen v. Milligan, which enforced Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The NRF initiated and directed Allen v. Milligan on behalf of the Caster plaintiff group as the case went before the Supreme Court.
The series will start with Alabama, which has a new map that could allow voters to elect two Black Members of Congress to represent the state simultaneously for the first time in history in November. In the first round of primary elections this year, Democratic primary voter turnout in Alabama’s second congressional district, the state’s new Black opportunity district, saw a dramatic increase. Specifically, 57,520 voters cast ballots in the AL-02 Democratic primary in March—an increase of 134 percent over the 2022 Democratic primary in Alabama’s second congressional district, when just 24,551 voters cast ballots. The NRF’s kick off event for Alabama will take place at 7 PM CT, Thursday, June 6. Alabamians who are interested can sign up to join the virtual event by clicking here. The NRF will also host virtual events for voters in Georgia and Louisiana later this year.
Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the NRF, issued the following statement:
“The extraordinary increase in primary voter turnout in Alabama’s newly-drawn Black opportunity district shows there is real excitement among Alabamians to vote on the state’s new fair map. But we know the damage done by decades of previously gerrymandered maps, which have historically discouraged citizens from participating at the ballot box, cannot be reversed in one election. That’s why we must help get the word out to voters in these states about their new opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice in this year’s general election. Because as we’ve seen so far in Alabama, when the people know they have a fair shot to have their voices heard, they are more likely to participate in the electoral process in their communities.”
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