A record number of Black Southerners could be elected to the Senate in 2020

The South is where most Black Americans live, but the region has sent just one Black senator to Congress since Reconstruction. That could change in 2020. (10/30/2020)

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Could a Southern state legislature hand Electoral College delegates to Trump?

Legal experts have warned that election results could be delayed for days due to all of the mail-in ballots and litigation over voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. This could open the door to federal courts intervening — or legislators deciding who won the presidential election in their state. (10/29/2020)

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THE STAKES 2020: Calandra Davis on how elections shape poor Mississippians' lives

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in America, and one-third of Black Mississippians live under the federal poverty line. We spoke with Calandra Davis, a policy analyst at Hope Policy Institute and a community activist, about how federal elections affect the regulatory state and thus people's access to affordable housing, health care, and banking. (10/26/2020)

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THE STAKES 2020: Jim Carnes on the future of Medicaid in Alabama

Alabama has one of the most restrictive Medicaid programs in the country, available only to people with incomes 18% or less of the federal poverty level. We spoke with Jim Carnes, the policy director of the nonprofit coalition Alabama Arise, about how this year's elections could impact the coalition's fight for Medicaid expansion. (10/28/2020)

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The South's low-wage workers are building 'a movement that votes'

As Election Day approaches, frontline workers and anti-poverty activists are encouraging eligible low-wage voters in the nation's poorest region to take part in this year's election in hopes of electing leaders who will support a living wage and respond to the needs of low-wealth communities.

Help us watchdog the 2020 elections!

A big THANK YOU to the many readers who have donated to support Facing South's 2020 election reporting.

You and thousands of readers count on Facing South's award-winning reporting about voting and the historic 2020 elections in the South.

Every day, Facing South is:

* Exposing attacks on voting rights across the South

* Uncovering the Big Money and Old South power-brokers and their agenda

* Lifting up the voices of grassroots leaders on the front lines

Your support makes it all possible! If you value our reporting and voice for change in the South, please make a tax-deductible contribution today:

https://www.facingsouth.org/2020elections

Please hurry! Election Day is just days away, and we need your help now to watchdog the elections and defend democracy in the South.
 
Thank you,
Chris Kromm, Publisher

Prefer to donate by mail? Make your check payable to ISS and mail to Institute for Southern Studies, P.O. Box 531, Durham, N.C. 27702. Questions? Email Chris at [email protected].

Election Protection's unprecedented effort to safeguard the vote

The national nonpartisan Election Protection coalition, now almost two decades old, is mobilizing like never before to help voters cast ballots in an election season beset by a pandemic and widespread threats of voter suppression, intimidation, and disinformation.