Photo: Elijah Nouvelage Agence France-Presse “I definitely think that the restrictions on voting have increased” in Georgia, regrets Crystal Greer, an activist with the NGO Protect the Vote GA.
Beiyi Seow – Agence France-Presse in Atlanta
Published at 6:59
- United States
Kamala Harris needs the votes of young black voters like Julian Roberts if she is to have any hope of winning Georgia, a swing state at the forefront of Donald Trump's efforts to reverse the 2020 presidential election.
Joe Biden narrowly won the southeastern US state four years ago, beating the Republican billionaire by less than 12,000 votes. The ballots of African-Americans and young people had been crucial.
But the Democratic camp fears this time that Kamala Harris, its candidate for the White House, will have difficulty repeating the feat because of new electoral rules intended according to it to hinder the vote of the African-American community, despite the wave of hope raised by her candidacy.
The spectacular withdrawal of Joe Biden from the race in favor of his vice-president, the first black woman to aim for the White House, has in fact completely reshuffled the cards.
Her candidacy is “a huge inspiration,” said Julian Roberts, a 19-year-old college student, after Sunday service at a church in Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county, which is about 45 percent black.
A breath of fresh air
Marchellos Scott, a 21-year-old student at Morehouse College — a historically black, all-male university in Atlanta — agreed: the mood has “really changed.”
“We immediately rallied to support” Kamala Harris, he said.
Since then, he has been campaigning to get students to register to vote and wants to organize busing on March 5 November.
No one knows whether these efforts will be enough to limit the political disaffection seen among African-Americans over the past four years.
Photo: Elijah Nouvelage Agence France-Presse Marchellos Scott (right) is campaigning to get black students to register to vote.
Black voters are traditionally Democratic, and the vice president needs them to turn out in droves, not just in Georgia.
According to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted in April when Joe Biden was still running, African Americans who said they were “definitely going to vote” had dropped to 62%, down from 74% before the 2020 election.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Recent surveys show that there is more enthusiasm for Harris’ candidacy.
Mondale Robinson, founder of the Black Male Voter Project, which aims to encourage black men to vote, cautions against complacency.
“We're not yet seeing any enthusiasm or buy-in from those […] who we call sporadic voters. »
Some African Americans “don’t see themselves in elections or in politics,” says Robinson, who is also the mayor of Enfield, North Carolina.
Donald Trump is trying to woo black voters by holding up the carrot of the pre-COVID economy and the scarecrow of immigration, which he says threatens “black jobs.”
“Support for Donald Trump is overwhelming,” says Catherine Davis, a former Republican candidate for governor of the state. “His policies have benefited the black community, without being complacent.”
Economic concerns or the Trump administration's law to reduce prison sentences for less serious offenders will be enough to attract their votes, she argues.
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Voter Restrictions
With turnout critical in key states, activists Winnie Taggart and Todd Belcore are organizing events to tell people how to register or locate their polling place.
“We’re looking for people between the ages of 18 and 35,” Winnie Taggart told AFP at a meeting in an Atlanta coffee shop. “And also those who are a little discouraged by politics as it is right now.” »
Wesley Benjamin, 74, one of the participants, plans to encourage his neighbors to register.
Fulton County, which includes much of the city of Atlanta, is significantly more Democratic than the rest of Georgia.
After the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump claimed, without any evidence, that Fulton was the scene of widespread fraud that cost him the state’s 16 electoral votes.
Georgia’s largely conservative election authority recently voted to ask the state attorney general to reinvestigate the county’s handling of the 2020 vote. Last week, it finalized a rule that would give local officials more ability to challenge election results.
Changes to election rules, such as requiring people to provide more proof of identity to vote by mail, are reducing access to absentee ballot drop boxes, and are having a greater impact on the Black vote, critics say.
During the pandemic, people have learned to use early and mail voting, “particularly in Black communities and communities of color,” says Wanda Mosley of the Black Voters Fund. Matter.
These changes could disrupt those who want to continue, she continues.
Crystal Greer, an activist with the NGO Protect the Vote GA, says she has started informing voters earlier than usual and is recruiting “observers” to help people on the day.
“I definitely think there has been an increase in the barriers to voting,” she says.