Progressive group unveils 15-state push to turn out Black male voters

A progressive advocacy group on Monday announced a new initiative in 15 states to push to mobilize Black male voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. 

In a statement on Monday, the People For the American Way said that its new “Defend the Black Vote” initiative seeks to turn out at least 1 million black male voters and counter right-wing misinformation and attacks on voting rights.

The advocacy group said the 15 states that it’s targeting have a history of voter suppression, with Black men being given misinformation about changes to Voter ID laws, mail-in voting, early voting and Election Day voting. 

The fifteen states include Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

“The Far Right is waging a two-front war on Black voters and American democracy,” said Ben Jealous, the organization’s president and who is also a former Maryland gubernatorial candidate Jealous added that right-wing propaganda and “MAGA extremist” candidates “continue to marginalize and disenfranchise” Black male voters. 

“Far-right attacks on our children’s education, attacks on reproductive freedoms, attacks on our right to vote in free and fair elections are just the tip of the iceberg,” Jealous added. “Our ‘Defend the Black Vote’ campaign can help communities gain greater rights and protections.”

According to an August Pew poll, 70 percent of Black registered voters said they would vote for or were leaning toward voting for Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidates.

In 2020, Black voters were less likely to vote than white voters, but more likely to cast ballots than Asian and Latino voters, according to the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice.

Former President Trump’s debunked claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election have spurred a wave of election reforms in red states.

Since 2020, across 49 states, more than 400 proposed bills have been introduced that would restrict access to the ballot and disproportionately affect minority voters, according to data from the Brennan Center for Justice.

The Democratic advocacy group launched a radio ad in Georgia last week in an effort to boost support for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) among Black male voters in the state as she faces off against Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for the second time.

Updated 4:15 p.m.