Benjamin Barber

August 29, 2019 - Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has forgone a presidential run to lead a multi-state initiative against voter suppression. The effort will target states in the Southeast and Midwest and will help state Democratic parties in battleground states monitor voter protection ahead of next year’s general election.

August 2, 2019 - As the alarming number of murders of transgender people, particularly women of color, mounts, Southern lawmakers have continued to push measures that discriminate against the transgender community. But in North Carolina, a federal judge recently approved a settlement that reverses controversial restrictions on transgender rights.

July 3, 2019 - Amid the current assaults on voting rights by Republican-led statehouses in the South, some Democratic presidential candidates have traveled to Southern states to release proposals for election reforms that would create new standards for combating discriminatory practices and expand voting access nationwide.

June 21, 2019 - Emails from the Texas Department of Public Safety show that Gov. Greg Abbott requested a purge of more than 90,000 eligible citizens from the voting rolls. It fits with Abbott's pattern of embracing discriminatory voting policies.

May 24, 2019 - As the movement for criminal justice reform takes center stage ahead of the 2020 elections, governors and legislators in the South are offering reforms to create a more welcoming reentry process after prison and to restore rights stripped from ex-felons — though progress on that front faces backlash in Florida.

April 26, 2019 - Voting rights advocates offered solutions for combating discriminatory election practices and increasing voting access in the state and around the country.

April 12, 2019 - Even as support for LGBTQ equality grows nationally, lawmakers in three Southern states are advancing legislation that would continue to discriminate.