In Georgia, Black voters' optimism meets suppression concern

Kamala Harris needs young, Black voters like Julian Roberts to have any hope of taking key battleground state Georgia, which became a focus for Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 US presidential defeat.

Joe Biden flipped the state by the smallest of margins four years ago -- defeating Trump by fewer than 12,000 votes -- and support from a surge of Black and young voters was critical.

But cynicism with politics and alleged efforts to restrict voting access mean Harris could face challenges emulating that victory.

Young voters like Roberts, 19, had been drifting away from Biden's re-election campaign, and the college student said he might have considered third-party candidates.

But the president's dramatic withdrawal and his replacement with the first-ever Black woman nominee changed the dynamic completely.

Her candidacy is proving "a big inspiration," Roberts told AFP after church service in Fulton County, the most populous county in the state and around 45 percent Black.

- Shifting mood -

Marchellos Scott, a student organizer at Morehouse College -- a private, historically Black university in Atlanta for men -- agreed that the mood "really shifted" with a younger Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.

"We immediately stepped up and threw support behind her," the 21-year-old said.

He has since been helping to drive student voter registration and plans to organize transport to polling stations on election day.

Whether that will be enough to correct a significant downturn among Black voters showing interest in the election remains to be seen.

Black voters traditionally lean heavily Democratic. Harris needs them to turn out in force on November 5, and not just in Georgia.

A national Washington Post-Ipsos poll back in April -- when Biden was still the candidate -- showed the proportion of Black Americans saying they were "absolutely certain to vote" dived from 74 percent before the 2020 election to 62 percent.

Recent polls suggest Harris's nomination has seen an uptick.

But Mondale Robinson, founder of the Black Male Voter Project -- aimed at increasing numbers of Black men who vote regularly -- cautioned about a lack of "excitement or buy-in yet from people who may sit out the election."

Some Black men "don't see themselves in elections or politicians," and Harris must earn their trust, said Robinson, also mayor of Enfield, North Carolina.

Trump has sought to improve his performance with Black voters, particularly men, centering his message on the economy and immigration, claiming migrants were taking "Black jobs."

"There is massive support for Donald Trump," insisted Catherine Davis, a former Republican candidate for Georgia governor. "His policies benefited the Black community without pandering."

She believes that economic issues and Trump's signing of the First Step Act during his presidency to reduce unnecessary incarceration could win votes.

- Voting challenges -

With turnout critical in battleground states like Georgia, activist Winnie Taggart and Todd Belcore, cofounder of nonprofit Social Change, are organizing events to ensure citizens know their registration status and polling locations.

"We are definitely looking for people 18 to 35," Taggart said. "And then maybe those voters that are a little bit discouraged with the nature of politics right now."

These tend to be younger people, she added.

Beyond that, attendees like Wesley Benjamin, 74, plan to get neighbors registered to vote, citing low turnout in his area.

Fulton County, which includes most of the city of Atlanta, is far more Democratic than elsewhere in Georgia.

After the 2020 election, Trump alleged -- with no evidence -- that widespread voter fraud in Fulton had cost him Georgia and its 16 electoral college votes.

This month, the Republican-aligned Georgia election board voted to ask the state's attorney general to reinvestigate the county government's handling of the 2020 ballot. Only last week, it finalized a rule giving local officials more power to dispute the certification of election results.

Critics of new elections rules -- which add ID requirements for mail-in voting, make it easier to challenge voter registrations and reduce access to absentee ballot drop boxes -- say they have a greater impact on Black voters.

"We saw a sizable shift in utilizing early voting and vote by mail during the pandemic, in particular in Black communities and communities of color," said Wanda Mosley of Black Voters Matter Fund.

Rule changes could confuse people who plan to keep doing so, she added.

Crystal Greer of Protect the Vote GA said her group has started voter education earlier than usual and is recruiting "poll monitors" to help people encountering problems on election day.

"I definitely think voter suppression has increased," she said.