Research from the Brennan Center for Justice and other advocacy organizations shows that Black Americans still have to confront unique barriers in order to cast their ballots. From reduced oversight of changes in voting laws to the ongoing threat of a global pandemic, Black voters have even more to contend with this election year. Despite historic obstacles and new challenges, Blacks take their right to vote seriously and have some of the highest rates of turnout in the country.
Even with declines among Black Americans who cast ballots in 2016, they still had the highest rates of voter turnout of any multicultural group in the last Presidential Election. Specifically, among Black women, the U.S. Census shows a consistent lead in turnout rates with 64% of them casting ballots in 2016 and a record 55% in the 2018 Midterms. In 2020, as community initiatives focus on increasing safe access to polling places, efforts to enfranchise ex-felons, in addition to encouraging turnout, Black Americans continue to climb—and vote—their way to the American Dream.
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