SPLC Launches We Decide: Alabama to Boost Voter Turnout After Court Narrowed Voting Protections
The campaign responds to recent Supreme Court rulings that reduced federal remedies for racialized maps by mobilizing and informing voters before urgent August and November elections.
Overview
- The Southern Poverty Law Center announced the We Decide: Alabama campaign Thursday, Aug. 6, to educate voters and raise turnout ahead of special primaries and the Nov. 3 general election.
- The group framed the effort as a response to two Supreme Court shifts: Shelby County v. Holder removed preclearance in 2013 and the spring 2026 Louisiana v. Callais decision made Section 2 challenges harder by stressing proof of discriminatory intent rather than effects.
- The Callais ruling let Alabama keep a 2023 congressional map that substantially redrew the 2nd District and reduced its Black Voting Age Population from about 49% to under 40%, according to reporting cited at the announcement.
- SPLC said the campaign will include canvassing starting in late August, community outreach and block parties in September, and targeted turnout work ahead of special primaries scheduled for Aug. 11 in Alabama’s 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts.
- Advocates warn the legal changes have widened Black-white participation gaps and that, with federal remedies weakened, boosting voter information and turnout is the main tool activists can use to protect representation in affected districts.