Black Voters Are Ready. Now, Let’s Protect Our Power

As we head into the pivotal midterm elections, let’s make one thing clear about Black voters – we don’t need a lecture about showing up at the polls or about how elections matter. What we need is a plan to protect our access to the ballot and ensure that every eligible voter has a fair opportunity to participate in our democracy. 

Our sister organization, Black Futures Lab, just released early findings from our 2026 Black Census Project, the largest survey of Black people in history. Our findings challenge the false and familiar narrative that Black people – especially young Black people – are apathetic, disengaged or waiting to be persuaded to participate. In fact, 95 percent of respondents said they intend to vote this year; that includes 95 percent of respondents who are younger than 30. 

Our preliminary findings draw on the first 6,000 respondents, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is an early snapshot rather than a prediction of turnout. However, the message from those respondents is clear: Black people intend to use our political power. But our determination to show up does not mean we believe the system is working.  Just 3 percent of respondents reported trusting the federal government. The data shows that we can recognize that institutions are failing us and still insist on having a say in who runs them. 

The same respondents who expressed an overwhelming intention to vote also described deeply practical aspirations for our lives, including becoming debt-free, improving our health, earning more money, and living in safe, affordable housing. That is what is at stake this November.  For Black people, voting and political participation are not abstract arguments about democracy. For us, voting is an important lever we must pull in order to shape decisions about our schools, families, livelihoods, housing, health care and neighborhoods. We know that voting is not the whole of Black political power, but it’s a necessary tool we cannot afford to have taken from us.

And that’s also what is at stake right now. For too long, Black communities and other historically marginalized voters have faced systemic barriers designed to silence our voices. Our votes have power; as a result, we have seen coordinated attacks to undermine trust in our elections and restrict access to the ballot. Those in power and bad actors are deliberately sowing chaos to ensure their party gains seats in the House, locking in the MAGA regime’s power. 

Take, for example, how ahead of the midterms, election officials denied requests for an early-voting site at North Carolina A&T, the nation’s largest historically Black university. Students instead marched roughly 45 minutes to vote, a concrete illustration of the extra barriers Black voters can face simply to cast a ballot.

There is also Tarrant County, Texas, home to Fort Worth, with a majority Black and Latino population. In September, county commissioners approved 224 Election Day polling locations – 92 fewer than in the 2022 midterms. Officials defended the reductions as a way to conserve resources and eliminate low-use sites. Voting rights groups have warned that the closures would fall heavily on areas with large minority populations. 

We have also seen the federal government increase pressure on the officials who administer elections. In July, in a desperate scare tactic, the Justice Department sent letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia warning of possible criminal liability for election officials who knowingly retain noncitizens on voter rolls or facilitate their voting – even though there are rules in place to make sure only eligible voters can vote.

We cannot allow anyone to dismantle the civil rights progress that so many fought and bled for. We have seen important checks on attempts to change voting procedures. In September, the Supreme Court left in place a temporary block on the Trump administration’s effort to impose new Postal Service restrictions on mail ballots before the midterms. The litigation continues, but those restrictions were blocked from taking effect for this election. We must continue to demand accessible polling locations, support legal challenges to unlawful restrictions and insist that election officials give voters clear, timely information when procedures change.

Responsibility for fair, accessible elections belongs to the people and institutions charged with administering them, not to voters navigating barriers. But while we can be outraged about this injustice, we must still take steps to protect our power and access to voting. Here are five ways each of us can be prepared to protect our access to the ballot box.

1. First, visit Black to the Future Action Fund’s Election Center to check your voting registration through your official state or county election office. Confirm your name, address and registration status, then verify your current polling location. Do not assume the place where you voted last time is still open. If something looks wrong, contact the election office immediately to find out what options remain under your state’s rules.
2. Second, make a voting plan with a backup. Know when and where you will vote, what identification your state requires and how you will get there. Check which early voting, mail-in voting or Election Day options are available to you. Save your local election office’s number before you need it.
3. Third, if you vote by mail, treat the instructions and deadlines as essential. Confirm when your ballot must arrive, not just when you need to send it, and which return methods your jurisdiction permits. If time is short, ask your election office about authorized in-person return options rather than guessing. Election Protection can help you navigate state-specific questions.
4. Fourth, bring three people into your plan. Ask a relative, neighbor, coworker or friend – Have you checked your registration? Do you know where you are voting? Do you need a ride, help finding the rules or someone to go with you? A voting plan becomes stronger when it is shared. We can not only protect our vote, but others’ as well. 
5. Finally, know where to turn if something goes wrong. The nonpartisan Election Protection hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) offers help by call or text with registration questions, voting rules and problems at the polls. Save it in your phone and share it with your people.

The Black Census findings make it clear – Black voters are ready to participate. This November, let’s move together with clarity and purpose, turn readiness into a plan, and make protecting one another’s votes part of how we show up. Let’s make sure we’re registered to vote, and bring our families, neighbors, and coworkers along when we do. 

We must continue to organize, educate, and mobilize our communities to ensure that every eligible voter is able to make our voice heard. Because when Black voters show up and participate, we shape the future.

SEE ALSO:

The True Power Of Black Voters Lies In Down-Ballot Races

November Is Coming: Here Is How Trump Is Trying To Steal The Election